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THE 


LIBRARY  CHRONICLE 

of  the  Friends  of  the 

UNIVERSITY  OF  PENNSYLVANIA 

LIBRARY 


Volume  XXV 
1959 


EDITORIAL  BOARD 
Edwin  C.  Bolles  Matthias  A.  Shaaber 

LeSSING  J.  ROSENWALD  RoBERT  E.  SpILLER 

Kenneth  M.  Setton  Conway  Zirkle 

Merrill  G.  Berthrong,  Editor 

editorial  assistants 

M.  Elizabeth  Shinn  Elizabeth  C.  Borden 

Nancy  S.  Blake 


CONTENTS 

Page 
SUTRO  LIBRARY  IN  METAMORPHOSIS 

Richard  H.  Dillon  1 

A  YOUNG  DRAMATIST'S  DIARY:  8 

The  Secret  Records  of  R.  M,  Bird 
Richard  Harris 

THE  DEXTER  AWARD  IN  HISTORY  OF   CHEMISTRY      25 
TO  EVA  ARMSTRONG 

Wyndham  D.  Miles 

THE  PROGRAMMSCHRIFTEN  COLLECTION  29 

Albert  R.  Schmitt 

THE  MATTHEW  ARNOLD  EXHIBIT  43 

Matthew  Arnold  at  the  University 
Neda  Westlake 

The  Gaiety  of  Matthew  Arnold 
Arnold  Whitridge 

SAMUEL  FLEMING,  ELIZABETHAN  CLERGYMAN  61 

William  E.  Miller 

A  MIDDLE  ENGLISH  LYRIC  IN  MANUSCRIPT  80 

John  Morford 

NOTES  ON  THE  EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY  GERMAN  84 

TRANSLATIONS  OF  SWIFT'S  GULLIVER'S  TRAVELS 
Matti  M.  Rossi 

LIBRARY  NOTES  50,  89 

REPORT  FROM  THE  SECRETARY  OF  THE  FRIENDS       59 
OF  THE  LIBRARY 
Jesse  C.  Mills 


Published  semiannually  by  and  for  the  Friends  of  the  University  of  Pennsylvania 
Library.  Distributed  free  to  members  of  the  Friends.  Subscription  rate  for  non- 
members:  $3.00. 


THE 

L I B  R ARY 

CHRONICLE 


Vol.  XXV 


WINTER  1959 


No.  1 


Friends  of  the  Library 
UNIVERSITY  OF  PENNSYLVANIA 

PHILADELPHIA 
1959 


EDITORIAL  BOARD 
Edwin  C.  Bolles  Matthias  A.  Shaaber 

Lessing  J.  Rosen  WALD  Robert  E.  Spiller 

Kenneth  M.  Setton  Conway  Zirkle 

Merrill  G.  Berthrong,  Editor 

editorial  assistants 
M.  Elizabeth  Shinn  Elizabeth  C.  Borden 

Nancy  S.  Blake  Elli  R.  Walter 


CONTENTS 

Page 
SUTRO  library  in  METAMORPHOSIS  1 

Richard  H.  Dillon 

A  YOUNG  DRAMATIST'S  DIARY:  8 

The  Secret  Records  of  R.  M.  Bird 
Richard  Harris 

THE  DEXTER  AWARD  IN  HISTORY  OF  CHEMISTRY 

TO  EVA  ARMSTRONG  25 

Wyndham  D.  Miles 

THE  PROGRAMMSCHRIFTEN  COLLECTION  29 

Albert  R.  Schmitt 

THE  MATTHEW  ARNOLD  EXHIBIT  43 

Matthew  Arnold  at  the  University 
Neda  Westlake 

The  Gaiety  of  Matthew  Arnold 
Arnold  Whitridge 

LIBRARY  NOTES  50 

REPORT  FROM  THE  SECRETARY  OF  THE  FRIENDS 

OF  THE  LIBRARY  59 

Jesse  C.  Mills 


Published  semiannually  by  and  for  the  Friends  of  the  University  of  Pennsylvania 
Library.  Distributed  free  to  members  of  the  Friends.  Subscription  rate  for  non- 
members:  $3.00. 

Artides  and  notes  of  bibliographical  or  bibliophile  interest  are  invited.  Con- 
tributions should  be  submitted  to  The  Editor,  The  Library  Chronicle,  University  of 
Pennsylvania  Library,  Philadelphia  4,  Pennsylvania. 


Sutro  Library  in  Metamorphosis 

Richard  H.  Dillon 


THE  Sutro  Library  is  a  branch  of  the  CaHfornia  State  Library 
located  in  the  San  Francisco  Public  Library.  Originally  it  was 
the  private  library  of  Adolph  Sutro  who  collected  it  in  the  late  nine- 
teenth century.  It  contained  some  250,000  volumes  and  was  one  of  the 
largest  private  libraries  in  the  world  until  it  suffered  grievously  in  the 
San  Francisco  fire  and  earthquake  of  1906  and  lost  half  of  its  collection. 
The  heirs  of  Sutro  presented  the  Library  to  the  State  of  California  in 
1913.  Its  doors  were  opened  to  the  public  in  1917  and  it  was  moved  to 
its  present  location  in  1923. 

We  at  Pennsylvania  have  a  special  interest  in  private  libraries  of  this 
type  as  indicated  by  the  Lea,  Furness,  and  Edgar  Fahs  Smith  libraries. 
There  is  a  special  affinity  between  the  Sutro  and  the  Edgar  Fahs  Smith 
collections  in  that  they  are  both  pre-eminently  research  libraries  that 
have  given  special  emphasis  to  science  and  technology.  The  time  period 
covered  in  both  libraries  is  likewise  analogous — from  the  early  modern 
period  to  the  present — although  the  earliest  material  in  the  Sutro 
Library  dates  from  the  thirteenth  and  fourteenth  centuries,  and  the 
Smith  collection  starts  with  the  late  fifteenth  century.  However,  the 
Edgar  Fahs  Smith  Library  has  a  more  specialized  collection  since  the 
founder  restricted  it  to  works  on  alchemy  and  chemistry.  It  is  now  a 
world-famous  collection  on  these  subjects  and  their  history.  The  Sutro 
Library  represents  a  more  general  approach.  Adolph  Sutro  aimed  at 
the  creation  of  a  superior  and  unique  research  library  in  science,  tech- 
nology, and  the  humanities  because  of  the  lack  of  such  a  facility  in  the 
West.  That  he  was  successful  to  an  outstanding  degree  is  beyond  dis- 
pute. We  are  indeed  fortunate  in  having  this  opportunity  of  learning 
more  about  the  Sutro  Library. 

Richard  Dillon  is  the  Sutro  Librarian  and  read  this  paper  before  the 
Division  of  History  of  Chemistry  of  the  American  Chemical  Society  at 
San  Francisco  in  April  of  1958.  He  has  kindly  consented  to  its  publica- 
tion in  this  issue  of  the  Library  Chronicle. 

[1] 


THE  Journal  of  the  American  Medical  Association  for  December 
21,  1957  devoted  some  attention  to  what  it  termed  "medi- 
cine's happy  accidents."  The  Journal  reminded  us  of  the  experi- 
ence of  Anton  van  Leeuwenhoek  in  casually  focusing  his  magnify- 
ing glass  on  a  drop  of  water — instead  of  upon  the  fly's  leg  which 
should  have  had  his  attention — and,  as  a  result  of  his  moment  of 
distraction,  discovering  the  science  of  bacteriology.  Other  ex- 
amples of  "happy  accidents"  in  medicine  could  be  added — 
Louis  Pasteur's  unintentional  inoculation  of  chickens  with  a  stale 
cholera  culture,  or  Fleming's  absentmindedness  in  leaving  a  Petri 
dish  uncovered  and  thereby  uncovering  the  age  of  penicillin. 

We  might  well  use  the  term  "serendipity"  in  place  of  the  words 
"happy  accidents."  This  is  the  talent  some  people  possess  for 
finding  something  while  searching  for  something  else  entirely. 
All  of  us  know  of  examples  in  the  field  of  chemistry.  The  same 
Journal  of  the  American  Medical  Association  referred  to  above  re- 
called the  "sweetest  case  of  serendipity  on  record."  When  a 
chemist,  who  forgot  to  wash  his  hands  before  lunch,  wondered 
about  the  sugary  taste  of  his  roast  beef  sandwich,  he  rushed  back 
to  his  lab  to  discover  saccharine. 

Serendipity  affects  all  disciplines  and  professions,  including 
librarianship.  For  instance,  the  reason  for  San  Francisco's  posses- 
sion of  a  little-known  but  potentially  great  historical  research 
collection  in  Sutro  Library  is  serendipity,  in  some  measure. 

While  Sutro  Library  is  probably  never  going  to  be  a  great 
library  in  the  history  of  chemistry,  it  is  going  to  be  better-known 
and  more-used  because  of  the  riches  it  does  have  in  this  field  as 
well  as  in  some  dozens  of  other  areas  of  historical  interest.  Why? 
For  the  simple  reason  that  California  and  the  Far  West,  like  it  or 
not,  are  still  on  the  bibliographical  frontier.  We  live  in  a  book- 
poor  area,  despite  the  great  growth  of  the  Pacific  Coast.  The 
librarians  of  both  the  University  of  California  and  the  University 
of  California  at  Los  Angeles  have  commented  publicly  on  the 
shortcomings  of  the  West  in  terms  of  reference  and  research 
collections.  The  Sutro  Library  can  be  of  great  help  in  correcting 
this  situation,  in  the  field  of  the  history  of  science,  including 
chemistry,  as  well  as  in  other  areas.  We  can  thank  the  founder, 
Adolph  Sutro,  not  only  for  the  care  with  which  he  selected  works 

[2] 


for  the  Library  but  also  bless  him  for  his  serendipity,  his  "uncon- 
scious collecting,"  if  you  will. 

To  return  again  to  our  term,  serendipity,  and  its  definition. 
The  Oxford  English  Dictionary  defines  it  as  "the  faculty  of  making 
happy  and  unexpected  discoveries  by  accident."  The  word  was 
coined  by  Horace  Walpole  circa  1754.  Walpole  took  it  from  a 
fairy  tale  titled  The  Three  Princes  of  Serendip  (Serendip,  like 
Taprobane,  being  an  archaic  name  for  Ceylon);  these  three 
fellows,  in  the  words  of  Walpole,  "were  always  making  discoveries 
by  accident  and  sagacity,  of  things  they  were  not  in  quest  of." 
Surely  Adolph  Sutro's  acquisition  of  so  much  Victorian  ephem- 
era, to  cite  but  one  example,  is  a  tribute  to  his  serendipity. 

The  story  of  the  Sutro  Library  is,  necessarily,  the  story  of  but 
one  man,  Adolph  Sutro.  Born  in  1830  in  what  was  then  Aix-la- 
Chapelle,  France,  and  which  is  now  Aachen,  Germany,  Sutro 
had  a  normal  European  boyhood  but  was  thrust  early  into  the 
business  world.  By  the  time  he  was  in  his  teens  he  was  in  charge 
of  his  father's  cloth  factory  in  the  Baltic  port  city  of  Memel. 

The  year  1848  has  been  called  "the  Year  of  Decision"  by 
Bernard  deVoto,  referring  to  the  United  States.  It  was  a  year  of 
revolution  in  Europe  and  it  proved  to  be  a  year  of  personal  deci- 
sion for  Adolph  Sutro.  The  family's  fortunes  having  been  ruined  by 
a  financial  "recession"  which  followed  on  the  heels  of  the  political 
disturbances  in  Germany,  he  determined  to  emigrate  to  America. 

The  Sutros  arrived  in  the  United  States  in  1851  and,  almost 
immediately,  Adolph  was  en  route  to  the  gold  fields  of  California 
to  seek  his  fortune.  When  he  arrived  in  San  Francisco  he  was  a 
poor  immigrant  boy  with  no  more  capital  than  his  youth  and  a 
carefully-hoarded  stock  of  tobacco  and  cigars  which  he  slept 
beside  on  a  pool  table  in  a  waterfront  saloon  the  first  night  he 
was  in  town.  Within  a  few  years  he  was  a  booming  success  in  what 
he  called  "petty  trade,"  mainly  the  tobacco  business. 

About  1859  his  interest  was  seized  by  the  newly-discovered 
Comstock  silver  mines  of  the  Virginia  City  area  of  Nevada.  He 
visited  them  and  found  that  there  was  great  danger  of  their  being 
shut  down  by  drainage  problems.  A  vast  quantity  of  water  was 
trapped  in  the  shafts,  steadily  flooding  the  workings.  Sutro 
grappled  boldly  with  the  problem  and  conceived  a  great  horizon- 

[3] 


tal  tunnel  which  would  not  only  drain  the  mines  but  would  also 
ventilate  them,  allow  the  quick  removal  of  ore  to  the  Carson 
River  stamp  mills,  and  provide  an  escape  tunnel  for  workmen  in 
case  of  fire. 

His  plan  was  so  good  that  the  very  men  who  first  supported  him 
were  soon  turning  on  him  as  a  rival  in  the  "Comstock  empire." 
The  "Silver  Kings"— Mackay,  Flood,  Fair  and  O'Brien— and 
the  "Bank  Ring"  of  Ralston  and  Sharon — wanted  no  further 
"divvying"  of  the  profits  so  they  tried  to  ruin  him  by  delaying  the 
project  and  then  taking  it  over  themselves.  They  fought  him  in 
the  mines,  in  the  banks  and  in  the  halls  of  Congress,  where  Sutro 
sought  aid,  but  they  lost. 

Sutro  built  his  tunnel,  one  of  the  man-made  wonders  of  the 
world.  Begun  on  October  19,  1869,  the  Sutro  Tunnel — nine 
miles  long  when  its  north  and  south  laterals  are  included — was 
not  finished  until  July  1878.  The  entrance  of  this  great  engineer- 
ing feat  can  still  be  seen  near  Dayton,  Nevada.  The  tunnel  itself 
should  be  of  interest  to  anyone  concerned  with  the  history  of 
science  and  technology. 

Adolph  Sutro  retired  from  his  Sutro  Tunnel  Company  in  1870 
a  rich  man.  He  took  a  round-the-world  trip  in  which  he  renewed 
his  interest  in  books  and  libraries.  About  this  time  he  evolved  his 
plan  for  a  great  library  patterned  after  the  British  Museum. 

Sutro  was  not  content  to  be  remembered  by  the  size  of  his  bank 
account  or  by  a  hole  in  the  ground  in  Nevada.  He  wanted  his 
monument  to  be  a  living,  immortal  organism — a  library.  He 
therefore  set  out  to  build  the  greatest  private  library  in  the  world. 
And  he  succeeded  admirably.  By  the  time  this  untutored  biblio- 
phile and  his  book  agents  were  through,  in  the  1 890's,  the  Sutro 
Library  contained  approximately  250,000  volumes. 

It  must  not  be  thought  that  Adolph  Sutro  built  this  great 
library  out  of  mere  rich  man's  vanity.  He  could  have  had  a  far 
cheaper  yet  more  impressive  monument  (at  least  in  the  eyes  of 
hoi  polloi)  in  some  memorial  tower,  fountain  or  pile  of  sculpture. 
But  Sutro  was  a  genuine  philanthropist.  He  stated  his  case  to  the 
press  in  1885: 

"The  wealth  of  man  can  only  be  enjoyed  a  short  portion  of  the 
immeasurable  span  of  time.  Wealth  cannot  be  taken  away  with 

[4] 


us  and  wealth  can  be  the  fruitful  cause  of  trouble  among  relatives 
and  dear  friends  after  we  have  gone.  I  resolved  to  devote  some 
portion  of  my  wealth  for  the  benefit  of  the  people  among  whom 
I  have  so  long  labored.  I  first  resolved  to  collect  a  library,  a 
library  for  reference.  Not  a  library  of  various  book  curiosities 
but  a  library  which  should  compare  with  any  in  the  world.  I  have 
a  gentleman  in  England  whose  sole  business  it  is  to  purchase  all 
such  valuable  books,  and  I  can  assure  you  that  it  causes  in  Eng- 
land no  little  feeling  of  jealousy  to  have  taken  away  from  her 
shores  such  valuable  works,  and  especially  to  so  barbarous  a  place 
as  California." 

There  was  good  reason  for  Sutro  to  put  together  a  library.  In 
1879  the  University  of  California  Library  was  a  decade  old  but 
totalled  only  80,000  volumes.  The  city  of  San  Francisco  had  not 
even  begun  work  on  a  public  library.  There  was  a  real  need  for 
a  research  library  on  the  Coast. 

Sutro  bought  books  himself  and  commissioned  agents  to  scour 
the  bookmarts  of  the  world.  In  the  year  1884  alone,  three  hundred 
and  thirty-five  cases  of  his  books  arrived  in  San  Francisco.  In 
1889  Sutro  told  a  friend  that  he  had  literally  walked  waist-deep 
in  books  in  a  Mexico  City  warehouse.  Needless  to  say,  he  bought 
the  whole  lot. 

Robert  Cowan,  the  San  Francisco  bookseller  and  bibliog- 
rapher, described  Sutro's  shopping  methods  thus: 

"He  had  a  queer  way  of  buying,  which  was  particularly  suc- 
cessful in  Italy.  He'd  go  into  a  bookshop  and  see  ten  or  fifteen 
thousand  volumes,  mostly  in  pigskin  or  parchment.  He'd  ask 
how  much  was  wanted  per  volume  for  the  whole  collection. 
Perhaps  the  dealer  would  say  'four  lire.'  He'd  offer  two  lire  and 
get  the  whole  stock;  and  usually  it  would  be  a  bargain.  Or,  he'd 
go  to  the  old  monasteries  and  ask  the  monks  to  sell  their  old 
treasures.  They'd  refuse,  whereupon  he'd  draw  from  his  pocket 
handfuls  of  American  gold  and  the  impoverished  monks  would 
yield.  These  methods  of  buying  account  for  the  enormous,  hetero- 
geneous mass  of  books  in  the  Sutro  Collection." 

Sutro  bought  in  many  fields.  It  might  be  easier  to  say  there 
were  a  few  fields  in  which  he  did  not  particularly  collect:  chil- 
dren's books,  the  fiction  of  his  day,  art  and  music. 

[5] 


We  are  not  sure  of  all  the  treasures  which  Sutro  did  acquire  by 
the  time  of  his  death  in  1898.  The  estate  was  tied  up  in  the  courts 
and  the  library  remained  in  storage.  On  April  18,  1906,  the  great 
San  Francisco  earthquake  and  fire  destroyed  all  the  libraries  in 
the  city  with  the  exception  of  the  Sutro  Library,  but  it  wiped  out 
more  than  half  of  that  collection.  About  91,000  volumes  re- 
mained. 

In  1913  the  Sutro  Library  was  given  to  the  State  of  California 
as  a  San  Francisco  Branch  of  the  State  Library.  The  doors  were 
opened  to  the  public  in  1917  and  the  Library  has  served  (with 
little  publicity  and  with  inadequate  quarters  in  the  Public 
Library  building)  a  growing  clientele. 

The  Sutro  Library  is  a  unique  institution.  It  is  a  public,  his- 
torical reference  and  research  library.  It  is  open  to  all,  and  unlike 
many  of  the  libraries  most  similar  to  it — Newberry  or  Hunting- 
ton, for  example — it  has  a  liberal  interlibrary  loan  policy. 
Strong  points  in  the  collection  include:  Hebraica,  voyages  and 
travels,  English  history,  American  history,  genealogy,  local 
history,  incunabula,  Shakesperiana,  theology  and  philosophy, 
and  the  history  of  science. 

Sutro  built  up  what  was  for  the  1880's  an  outstanding  reference 
library  in  both  the  humanities  and  science.  But  the  passage  of 
time,  the  destruction  by  the  1906  holocaust,  and  the  effect  of 
Sutro's  serendipity  have  "metamorphosed"  the  collection.  Even 
the  most  up-to-date  works  on  hydraulics,  let  us  say,  of  Sutro's  day 
may  now  be  avidly  sought  by  the  student  of  the  history  of  science. 
Thus,  a  title  like  Prony's  Architecture  Hydraulique  for  reference  and 
loan  is  of  great  value  in  our  "book-poor"  West. 

Even  more  interesting  than  the  recognized  classics  in  the  his- 
tory of  science,  like  the  works  of  Boerhaave,  Accum,  Chaptal, 
Orfila,  and  Davy,  on  exhibit  in  the  Library,  are  the  ephemeral 
pamphlets  on  science  and  technology  which  Sutro  acquired 
accidentally,  as  it  were,  and  which  do  much  to  fill  us  in  on  the 
thought  and  technique  in  these  fields  a  hundred  or  two  hundred 
years  ago.  The  time  is  ripe  for  an  exploration  of  the  25,000  Eng- 
lish pamphlets  of  the  period  1640-1890  in  the  Sutro  collection, 
particularly  the  10,000  or  so  for  the  19th  Century,  for  their  inter- 
pretation of  the  Industrial  Revolution  and  the  Age  of  Experi- 

[6] 


mentation.  No  one  knows  just  what  treasures  may  lie  among 
these  pamphlets.  In  science  they  cover  every  subject  from  rail- 
roads to  smog  to  chemistry. 

An  additional  trove  is  the  Sir  Joseph  Banks  Manuscript  Collec- 
tion, an  archive  of  some  10,000  papers — approximately  100,000 
pages  of  unique  material — which  documents  scientific  life  in 
England  at  the  end  of  the  18th  Century  and  the  beginning  of  the 
19th.  Again,  we  are  not  sure  just  what  treasures  lurk  in  these 
papers,  for  the  collection  is  less  than  half  catalogued.  It  is  obvious 
that  Sir  Joseph  Banks'  scientific  interests  were  more  in  the  line 
of  agriculture,  botany  or  zoology  than  chemistry  and  physics,  yet 
the  one  researcher  who  has  explored  the  Banks  Papers  in  search 
of  history  of  science  material  turned  up  original,  unpublished 
manuscripts  by  or  about  such  men  as  Davy,  Batt,  Henry,  and 
Rumford. 

It  is  obvious  that  the  picture  is  changing  at  Sutro  Library.  At 
present,  the  Library  is  known  as  an  active  reference  library  in  the 
fields  of  genealogy  and  local  history,  with  many  rare  books  and 
ancient  manuscripts  of  great  value  but  of  limited  appeal  because 
of  their  specialization.  Not  yet  completely  explored,  much  less 
appreciated,  is  the  Sutro  Library's  ability  to  serve  students  in  one 
of  the  newest  disciplines  to  be  honored  in  American  university 
curricula — the  history  of  science.  However,  the  "prospecting" 
which  has  been  done  so  far  leads  one  to  believe  that  some  rich 
"strikes"  may  be  made  in  Sutro  Library  if  one  is  willing  to  do  a 
bit  of  bibliographic  digging. 


[7] 


A  Young  Dramatist's  Diary: 
The  Secret  Records  of  R.  M.  Bird' 


Richard  Harris* 


Introduction 

The  Secret  Records,  a  sporadically-kept  and  short-lived  journal  of 
Robert  Montgomery  Bird,  the  nineteenth-century  American  dramatist, 
is  an  important  document  in  the  history  of  the  American  theatre. 
Recording  his  personal  doubts  and  frustrations,  the  young  author  puts 
before  the  reader  the  necessary  dangers  and  limited  rewards  of  the 
dramatic  author. 

Bird,  who  lived  from  1806-1854,  spent  most  of  his  life  in  Philadelphia 
(graduating  from  the  University  of  Pennsylvania  School  of  Medicine  in 
1827),  where  he  saw  Edwin  Forrest,  the  famous  American  actor,  pro- 
duce his  notable  tragedies  The  Gladiator,  Oralloossa,  and  The  Broker  oj 
Bogota.  In  1915,  his  grandson  gave  the  Bird  manuscripts  to  the  Uni- 
versity of  Pennsylvania.  The  plays  were  subsequently  published  by 
Clement  Foust  and  Edward  O'Neill,  both  of  the  University.  The  Secret 
Records  is  to  be  found  in  the  Bird  Collection,  f 

In  April,  1831,  Bird  had  finished  the  final  draft  of  The  Gladiator,  and 
had  sent  it  off  to  Forrest  for  final  approval.  Between  this  time  and  the 
play's  opening  on  September  26th,  Bird,  perhaps  exhausted  by  his  work 
and  occupied  by  second  thoughts  as  to  the  play's  quality  (the  first  play 
he  submitted  to  Forrest — Pelopidas — was  accepted,  but  not  produced), 
began  his  journal  on  August  27th,  a  month  before  his  famous  play 
opened,  and  finished  it  before  the  year  was  out.  Although  there  are  but 
three  entries  in  the  journal — August  27th,  October  26th,  and  December 
14th — it  is  probable  that  Bird  set  down  his  thoughts  more  often  than 
that.  The  abrupt  shifts  in  subject  matter  seem  to  indicate  that  the  writer 
put  his  thoughts  down  whenever  he  felt  the  need.  It  was  a  casual  per- 
formance, too;  otherwise  one  would  expect  him,  for  example,  to  record 
the  opening  of  The  Gladiator  immediately.  Instead,  he  gives  notice  of  it 

*  Richard  Harris,  author  of  "From  the  Papers  of  R.  M.  Bird:  The  Lost  Scene 
from  News  of  the  Night"  appearing  in  the  Winter  1958  issue  of  the  Library  Chronicle,  is 
currently  a  lecturer  in  the  Department  of  Speech  and  Theatre  at  Indiana  University. 

t  The  Bird  Collection  consists  of  25  bound  manuscript  volumes  of  Bird's  plays 
and  13  boxes  of  manuscripts,  correspondence,  political  speeches,  and  financial 
records.  The  variety  of  the  material  provides  an  opportunity,  not  only  to  investigate 
the  technique  of  a  nineteenth-century  dramatist,  but  also  to  explore  the  relation- 
ships of  playwrights,  actors,  and  producers  of  the  American  stage  of  the  period.  "The 
Life  of  Robert  Montgomery  Bird"  by  his  wife  Mary  Mayer  Bird  was  edited  by 
C.  Seymour  Thompson  and  appeared  in  five  installments  of  the  Library  Chronicle  in 
1944-1945  (vol.  12,  no.  3-vol.  13,  no.  3).  This  hitherto  unpublished  manuscript 
forms  a  part  of  the  Bird  Collection. 

[8] 


one   month  later,   under   the  second   "entry."    Likewise,   under   the 
December  entry,  he  refers  to  a  review  written  in  November. 

Of  more  importance,  however,  than  his  manner  of  writing  are  the 
various  subjects  which  Bird  touches  upon  throughout  the  seven-page 
manuscript.  Two  main  divisions  should  be  mentioned:  those  passages 
written  before  the  opening  of  The  Gladiator  and  those  written  after. 
Before  this  event,  Bird  is  almost  morbid  with  regret  and  frustration;  he 
touches  upon  his  lack  of  success  at  his  age  of  twenty-five,  and  seems  to 
place  the  blame  for  this  lack  of  success  squarely  on  the  audience,  for 
their  lack  of  understanding,  their  vulgarity,  their  provincialism,  and 
their  love  for  romantic  novels.  After  the  opening  of  the  play  he  seems 
more  confident,  but  at  the  same  time  becomes  exasperated  with  per- 
formers, critics,  and  audience  alike. 

Was  Bird  justified,  in  the  earlier  part  of  the  journal,  in  making  these 
depositions  regarding  the  American  public?  There  is  a  great  deal  of 
evidence  to  show  that  he  was.  From  the  earliest  times  in  Colonial 
America,  there  had  been  not  only  a  puritanical  prejudice  against 
theatrical  enterprises,  but  also  an  attitude  of  hostility  and  contempt  for 
the  theatre  on  the  part  of  other  literary  men.^  In  1757,  "The  Anti- 
gallican,"  an  essayist  speaking  of  the  introduction  of  operas  and  plays 
into  the  Colonies,  says  forthrightly,  "If,  in  this  detach'd  quarter  of  the 
globe,  we  are,  as  yet,  strangers  to  these  names,  and  to  the  things  meant 
by  them,  'tis  one  circumstance  of  our  felicity.  May  we  always  continue 
to  be  so!"^  What  compounded  the  trouble  on  the  American  scene,  how- 
ever, was  the  preference  on  the  part  of  that  public  who  did  go  to  the 
theatre  for  tried  and  trusted  English  plays,  a  preference  that  also  ex- 
tended to  English  novels.  A  contemporary  writer  summarizes  the  situa- 
tion succintly:  "The  writers  of  America  have  no  encouragement  what- 
ever to  venture  upon  the  drama.  The  managers  of  the  theatres,  like  the 
book  publishers,  cannot  afford,  of  course,  to  give  an  American  author 
anything  for  a  play  when  they  can  get  a  better  one,  by  every  arrival, 
Jor  nothing— aher  it  has  been  cast  for  the  London  stage,  and  passed  the 
ordeal.""*  Thus,  the  public's  contempt  and  the  publishers'  freedom, 
occasioned  by  the  absence  of  copyright  laws  covering  foreign  authors, 
combined  to  frustrate  the  expression  of  a  native  American  drama.  Even 
when  a  native  playwright  was  fortunate  enough  to  have  a  play  pro- 
duced, he  had  no  further  rights  over  it,  since  the  actor  or  manager 
possessed  the  play  by  right  of  performance.  Any  financial  return  usually 
took  the  form  of  a  third  night  benefit,  which  amounted  to  little  more 
than  a  charitable  contribution.^ 

Bird  himself,  in  a  manuscript  fragment  entitled  "The  Decline  of 
Drama,"  analyzes  the  problem  more  dispassionately  than  he  does  in 
The  Secret  Records.  He  lists  three  causes  contributing  to  this  decline.  In 
the  first  place,  there  is  ".  .  .  the  increased  independence  (in  spirit  as 
well  as  pocket)  .  .  .  of  authors,  whose  pride  .  .  .  will  not  allow  them 

[9] 


to  submit  their  works  to  the  arbitration  of  ignorance  and  brutality  .  .  ." 
of  the  audience,  or  to  "the  maHce  and  meanness  of  critics.  .  .  ." 
Secondly,  he  says,  "It  is  only  in  the  theatre,  that  genius  is  at  the  mercy 
of  the  mob."  Thirdly,  he  explains  that  other  literary  employments — 
annuals,  magazines,  and  newspapers — offer  more  rewards.^  Cultivated 
individuals  of  the  time,  having  no  professional  interest  in  the  theatre, 
were  aware  of  these  problems,  and  were  content  to  read  their  drama  at 
home  rather  than  venture  forth  to  the  theatre.  Sydney  Fisher,  a  Phila- 
delphian  of  Bird's  time,  says  rather  shortly,  "I  detest  the  theatre,  the 
crowd  of  horrid  vulgar  people  disgusts  me,  and  the  wretched  per- 
formance of  most  of  the  actors  except  the  'star'  of  the  evening  destroys 
the  pleasure  one  would  otherwise  feel  in  seeing  a  good  character  well 
played.  I  rejoice  that  I  have  never  seen  any  of  Shakespear's  finer  plays, 
on  the  stage.  I  can  read  them  without  the  disturbing  associations  & 
recollections  of  vulgar  acting,  &  stage  effect."''  Therefore,  snobbish 
audiences,  unappreciative  critics,  tightfisted  managers,  and  arbitrary 
copyright  laws — all  of  these  conspired  to  make  the  road  of  the  aspiring 
young  dramatist  a  path  of  thorny  brambles  indeed. 

In  another  passage  in  the  diary  written  prior  to  the  opening  of  his 
play.  Bird  makes  reference  to  a  slave  revolt  taking  place  in  Virginia. 
This  revolt  was,  of  course,  the  famous  rebellion  of  Nat  Turner,  the 
evangelistic  and  fanatical  slave,  who  wanted  to  start  a  world-wide 
emancipation  of  slaves.  Since  Bird  finished  The  Gladiator  in  April,  and 
Turner  did  not  begin  his  revolt  until  August  20th,  one  cannot  make  the 
claim  that  Turner's  rebellion  was  the  immediate  inspiration  for  Bird's 
play,  itself  a  story  of  revolt  in  the  days  of  the  later  Roman  Republic. 
There  had  been  a  multitude  of  uprisings  however,  which  could  have 
influenced  Bird— no  less  than  153  from  the  earliest  times  in  America 
through  1831— among  them  the  extensively  organized  revolt  of  Den- 
mark Vesey  in  1 822,  after  which  forty-seven  slaves  were  condemned  to 
the  gallows.^  This  is  not  the  place  to  discuss  the  exact  motives  which  led 
to  these  insurrections.  It  is  enough  to  say  that  while  Bird  championed 
the  cause  of  individual  liberty  among  the  enslaved  gladiators  of  ancient 
Rome,  he  looked  upon  the  institution  of  slavery  in  his  own  country  with 
a  mixture  of  tolerance  and  dread.  Thus,  when  he  says,  in  The  Secret 
Records,  that  if  the  play  were  performed  in  the  South  he  "would  be  re- 
warded with  the  Penitentiary!"  he  realizes  the  implications  his  play 
has  for  his  own  countrymen.^ 

Bird's  discussion  after  the  opening  of  The  Gladiator  falls  into  three 
main  divisions:  the  kind  of  performance  his  play  has  been  given,  its  re- 
ception by  the  critics,  and  the  proper  attributes  of  the  poet.  As  to  the 
performance  of  the  play,  he  gives  it  short  shrift:  "It  was  a  horrible  piece 
of  bungling  from  beginning  to  end."  This  was  not  unusual  in  the 
American  theatre  of  the  time.  Stage  design,  costuming,  and  lighting 
were  primitive,  inadequate,  and  far  below  the  unified  standards  of  the 

[10] 


twentieth  century.  Pieces  of  scenery  were  of  stock  and  stereotyped 
design— set  pieces  handed  down  from  one  production  to  another  in  the 
same  theatre,  or  carried  for  years  in  the  management's  trunks.  Gas 
lighting  afforded  dim  and  hazardous  illumination.  The  actors  them- 
selves were  responsible  for  their  costumes  and,  likely  as  not,  these  gar- 
ments were  hand-me-downs,  ill-suited  to  the  tone  of  the  play  or  the 
period  of  presentation.  Indeed,  it  was  not  long  before  this  that,  in 
England,  David  Garrick  and  Mrs.  Siddons  had  played  in  Macbeth 
wearing  eighteenth-century  brocade.  The  acting  itself,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  the  "stars,"  was  also  of  an  inferior  quality.  In  those  far-off  days, 
the  actor  was  on  his  own  to  learn  his  trade— and  it  was,  in  most  cases, 
strictly  a  trade— as  best  he  could,  in  a  repertoire  company,  and,  if  he 
were  lucky  enough,  in  the  company  of  a  "star."  If  he  were  recognized 
as  possessing  those  indefinable  qualities  which  constitute  the  make-up 
of  the  real  actor,  he  would  be  elevated  to  leading  roles,  an  event  which 
did  not  happen  frequently.  For  the  most  part,  men  and  women  were 
condemned  to  spend  their  lives  strutting  through  small  parts,  never 
attaining  renown.  This,  then,  was  the  cursus  honorum  of  acting,  a  chaotic 
yet  exacting  tradition  which  still  obtains  to  a  large  extent. 

The  one  exception  Bird  makes  in  his  condemnation  of  the  company 
is  the  acting  of  Edwin  Forrest,  "...  undoubtedly  the  best  man  for 
Spartacus  in  Christendom.  ..."  Forrest,  a  native  American  and  a 
sponsor  of  plays  by  American  authors,  was  about  the  same  age  as  Bird, 
and  had  attained  to  his  present  position  in  the  theatre  through  working 
in  and  touring  with  various  repertoire  companies.  The  greatness  of  his 
acting  consisted  mainly  in  the  display  of  his  physical  powers.  William 
Winter  gives  a  very  good  description  of  these: 

From  the  first,  and  until  the  last,  his  acting  was  saturated  with  "realism,"  and 
that  was  one  reason  of  his  extensive  popularity.  He  could  at  all  times  be  seen, 
heard,  and  understood.  He  struck  with  a  sledge-hammer.  Not  even  nerves  of 
gutta-percha  could  remain  unshaken  by  his  blow.  In  the  manifestation  of  terror 
he  lolled  out  his  tongue,  contorted  his  visage,  made  his  frame  quiver,  and  used 
the  trick  sword  with  the  rattling  hilt.  In  scenes  of  fury  he  panted,  snorted,  and 
snarled,  like  a  wild  beast.  In  death  scenes  his  gasps  and  gurgles  were  protracted 
and  painfully  literal.  .  .  }^ 

Physically,  the  role  of  Spartacus,  the  gladiator  who  shook  the  Roman 
Republic  to  its  foundations  and  caused  the  deaths  of  thousands,  was 
admirably  suited  to  Forrest.  While  the  part  of  Spartacus  does  contain 
spiritual  depths,  Forrest  seems  to  have  subordinated  them  in  the  inter- 
ests of  pure  spectacle.  It  may  be,  perhaps,  that  he  was  unequal  to  inter- 
preting these  spiritual  qualities,  for  in  his  production  of  Bird's  later 
play,  The  Broker  of  Bogota,  he  did  not  achieve  the  same  renown,  inter- 
preting a  character  who  asserts  himself  rather  through  will  than  by 

[11] 


means  of  any  physical  prowess;  consequently,  the  latter  play  did  not 
hold  as  firm  a  place  in  his  repertoire  as  The  Gladiator. 

Bird's  second  consideration  in  the  latter  part  of  his  journal  lies  with 
the  critics,  whom  he  seems  to  consider  inadequate  in  their  tasks.  In  this 
charge.  Bird  again  comes  near  to  the  heart  of  the  matter.  At  least  one 
or  two  other  contemporary  journalists  were  aware  of  the  problems  of 
dramatic  criticism  in  America,  and  were  not  afraid  to  analyze  them. 
Gould  lists  as  the  causes  of  the  low  state  of  criticism:  (1)  the  practice  of 
authors  of  giving  complimentary  copies  to  critics,  (2)  critical  indulgence 
for  personal  friends,  (3)  leniency  toward  colleagues  on  the  same  journal, 
(4)  the  fear  of  offending  authors'  admirers,  (5)  the  desire  to  encourage 
American  literature,  and  (6)  indolence."  If  one  adds  to  these  character- 
istics puritanical  and  provincial  prejudice,  the  critical  picture  becomes 
gloomy  indeed.  As  another  writer  expressed  it,  "A  newspaper  criticism 
is  generally  a  puff  or  a  libel — either  an  extravagant  eulogy  or  a  violent 
attack. "^2  It  is  not  entirely  true,  as  Fisher  states,  that  Bird  was  "damned 
with  faint  praise."  The  Gladiator  was  generally  praised,  but  in  effusive 
and  superficial  terms.  Contemporary  criticism  favored  spectacle  and  the 
emphatic  statement  of  moral  truth,  while  fidelity  to  historical  events 
was  also  ranked  high  among  critics  conditioned  by  those  scholastically 
imposing  novels  compiled  by  Sir  Walter  Scott. 

While  many  critics  merely  comment  neutrally  upon  the  enthusiasm 
of  the  audience,  others  choose  to  commit  themselves  and  go  into  some 
detail  and,  almost  without  exception,  acclaim  Bird's  play.  One  reviewer 
is  particularly  enthusiastic  when  he  claims  that  The  Gladiator  is  ''Hhe  best 
native  tragedy  extant^''  and  that  "It  bears  the  stamp  of  genius  in  every 
lineament."  He  even  thinks  that  all  the  actors  did  a  good  job  !^^  Another 
critic  says  that  Bird  has  ".  .  .  wrought  up  a  Drama  of  intense  interest, 
without  in  the  least  violating  probabilities."  "The  characters,"  he  con- 
tinues, "are  drawn  with  spirit;  each  speaks  in  accordance  with  the  feel- 
ings and  passions  natural  to  his  respective  situation,  thereby  preserving 
a  perfect  individuality."^*  Still  another  chooses  to  compare  Bird's  play 
with  English  plays,  stating  that  "In  point  of  scenic  effect,  we  consider 
the  Gladiator  as  quite  equal  to  Virginius  or  Brutus,  while  as  a  dramatic 
composition  it  certainly  surpasses  either."^^  The  critics  in  the  Boston 
papers  continue  in  the  same  vein,  complimenting  the  "beautiful 
passages,"  "noble  sentiments,"  "intense  passion,"  and  "hurried 
action. "^^  A  Philadelphia  critic  was  careful  to  note  that  while  Bird  has 
drawn  largely  from  his  imagination,  ".  .  .  he  has  adhered  with  strict- 
ness to  historical  truth  in  all  its  details. "^^ 

There  were,  however,  unfavorable  comments.  Several  reviews  refer 
to  the  critic  in  the  New  York  Courier  who  says  that  "in  his  opinion 
[the  play]  was  damned."  Another  New  York  critic  maintains  that  the 
interest  of  the  play  ".  .  .  lies  chiefly  in  the  two  first  acts."^^  Other  re- 
viewers find  fault  with  occasional  turns  of  phrase,  the  superfluity  of  some 

[12] 


characters,  some  mispronunciation  on  Forrest's  part,  and  (perhaps 
most  significantly)  the  fact  that  Forrest  seems  to  have  omitted  some 
important  Hnes  from  the  last  scene,  causing  "a  lame  and  impotent  con- 
clusion." Many  of  the  reviewers  quote  extensively  from  the  play,  having 
thought,  perhaps,  that  this  method  of  filling  out  a  column  of  newsprint 
not  only  amplified  their  critical  reputations  but  accomplished  the  job 
of  "analyzing"  the  play.  But  the  contrast  between  superficial  extrava- 
gance on  the  one  hand  and  terse  and  picayune  faultfinding  on  the 
other — the  common  practice  of  the  day — must  have  been  frustrating 
not  only  for  Bird,  but  for  his  fellow  dramatists  as  well.  It  is  small  wonder 
then  that  native  playwrights  felt  cheated  when  their  works  received 
such  "commendation." 

One  critical  remark  by  the  reviewer  of  the  New  England  Galaxy,  who 
says  that  closet  drama  is  a  higher  type  than  stage  drama,  particularly 
rankled  in  Bird's  mind.  It  was  apparently  the  spur  which  drove  him  on 
to  his  final  discussion  and  the  end  of  his  diary.  In  this  part  Bird  attempts 
to  outline  those  qualities  which  constitute  the  make-up  of  genius.  As  it 
turns  out,  the  attempt  is  only  a  mere  suggestion,  but  it  serves  to  show, 
through  a  number  of  references.  Bird's  acquaintance  with  the  critical 
ideas  of  his  time.  As  an  introduction  to  this  discussion,  Bird  maintains 
that  it  requires  more  talent  to  write  a  stage  play  than  a  closet  drama — 
a  great  deal  more,  judging  from  his  irritation.  It  is  difficult  to  say  today 
just  what  Bird's  contemporaries  considered  as  diff"erences  between 
closet  drama  and  stage  drama,  considering  the  fact  that  nearly  all 
critical  theory  up  to  Bird's  time  depended  for  its  interpretation  upon 
literary  drama,  whether  staged  or  not.  Perhaps  romantic  theory,  which 
was  just  gaining  momentum  in  Bird's  college  days,  held  that  effective 
stage  presentation  depended — at  least  in  England  and  America — more 
upon  spectacle  than  upon  character  or  thought.  The  history  of  the 
American  theatre  in  the  nineteenth  century  seems  to  bear  this  out. 

Bird  next  makes  the  distinction  between  the  "faculty  of  effect"  and 
the  "faculty  of  poetry,"  saying  that  the  latter  is  superior  to  the  former; 
and  he  goes  on  to  analyze  the  case  of  Otway.  Here  can  be  seen  his  ac- 
quaintance with  Coleridge's  critical  ideas.  Coleridge's  Lectures  on 
Shakespeare  were  printed  from  1808  to  1811-12,  and  it  is  highly  probable 
that  Bird  came  in  contact  with  these  writings  sometime  before  1831. 
Coleridge  held  that  genius  and  imagination  should  be  distinguished 
from  the  lower  faculties  of  talent  and  fancy  respectively,  for  while  the 
first  are  unifying  and  reconciling,  the  latter  are  merely  combinatory, 
and  thus  "mechanistic,  associationist."^^  Another  idea  which  perhaps 
motivated  Bird  was  Coleridge's  theory  of  organic  unity — that  "lan- 
guage, passion,  and  character  must  act  and  react  on  each  other."^" 
This  probably  is  the  reason  that  Bird  believed  that  Otway's  works  are 
greater  than  certain  works  of  Byron  and  Coleridge — not  because 
Otway's  poetic  faculty  was  greater  than  theirs,  but  because  he  possessed 

[13] 


the  dramatic  faculty  in  addition  to  the  poetic.  In  other  words,  he  pos- 
sessed that  quaUty  of  "fusion"  (Coleridge's  term)  which  the  others 
lacked. 

Bird  is  careful  to  make  a  reservation — an  important  one — that  an 
artist  may  have  one  faculty  in  "admirable  perfection"  which  sets  him 
apart  from  others  of  his  kind.  He  says  he  has  "no  business"  with  this 
question;  he  seems  to  intimate  that  genius  cannot  be  measured  arith- 
metically; to  do  so  is  reasoning  fallaciously.  Thus,  Bird's  reservation 
constitutes  a  saving  grace  in  his  argument.  He  further  states  that  a  good 
dramatist  must  be  ranked  over  a  good  poet.  While  this  may  seem  valid, 
and  is  even  true  in  some  actual  cases  (Sophocles  and  Shakespeare,  for 
example),  the  idea  is  simply  not  universally  true.  The  point  was  hotly 
debated  by  the  romantics  in  the  early  nineteenth  century. 


In  editing  The  Secret  Records,  the  author  has  followed  the  original 
manuscript  throughout,  while  spelling  and  punctuation  have  been 
normalized.  Words  added  by  the  author  are  indicated  by  brackets,  and 
occasional  notes  have  been  inserted  for  clarity. 


[14] 


SECRET  RECORDS 

August  27th,  1831. 

"Quaestori  ulterior  Hispania  obvenit:  ubi,  cum  mandato 
praetoris  jure  dicundo  conventus  circumiret,  Gadeisque  venisset, 
animadversa  apud  Herculis  templum  Magni  Alexandri  imagine, 
ingemuit;  et,  quasi  pertaesus  ignaviam  suam,  quad  nihil  dum  a 
se  memorabile  actum  esset  in  aetate,  qua  jam  Alexander  orbem 
terrarum  subegisset,  missionem  continue  efflagitavit,  ad  captan- 
das  quam  primum  majorum  rerum  occasiones  in  urbe." 

Sueton[ius]  in  Vit[a]  Caesaris,  7^^ 

The  foregoing  passage  I  never  read  without  melancholy — not 
from  any  very  great  sympathy  with  Caesar's  insignificance,  but 
because  it  reminds  me  more  strongly  of  my  own.  "The  mightiest 
Julius"  could  ponder  with  a  sad  and  humbled  mind  over  the 
wealthy  years  of  youth  squandered  without  returning  him  the 
profits  of  honour  and  distinction;  and  I  am  enough  like  Caesar 
to  do  the  same.  I  have  lived  more  than  twenty-five  years  in  the 
world,  and  have  done  nothing — nothing  but  hope.  I  see  my  com- 
panions pressing  onwards  with  spirit,  and  gaining  wealth  and 
reputation — at  least  some  of  them — and  I,  whose  desires  and 
aspirations  carry  me  in  thought  beyond  them,  remain  behind, 
stationary,  obscure,  unnoticed.  Twenty-five  years  wasted  in 
castle-building!  Me  miserum!  I  have  raised  structures  enough — 
lovely,  grand,  fantastic,  celestial — to  build  a  city  for  the  Fairy 
Queen;  but  a  single  thought  of  Caesar  sighing  at  the  marble  feet 
of  the  Conqueror,  and  I  am  among  the  vapours  that  formed  my 
fabrics — fine  vapours  indeed,  but  without  their  former  sunshine — 
fogs,  fogs,  fogs. 

I  envy  no  boy  his  precocity;  but  a  man's  is  another  matter. 
Congreve  began  at  19,  and  wrote  his  last  play  at  25.  Sheridan 
produced  The  Rivals  at  22,  and  at  25  has  written  The  School  for 
Scandal}'^  At  [22],  Campbell  had  published  the  Pleasures  of  Hope; 
and  at  [24],  Byron  had  become  as  immortal  as  Childe  Harold. 
Glorious  instances  these  and  very  ridiculous  for  me  to  talk  about 
them.  But  all  men  are  vain  in  their  closets;  and  those  who  are 
most  ashamed  they  have  done  nothing,  are  perhaps  the  most 
easily  comforted  with  this  hope  of  amending. 

[15] 


I  wrote  The  Gladiator  just  on  the  Eve  of  my  25th  year;  but  can 
have  no  satisfaction  in  noting  its  birth,  till  I  can  form  some 
augury  of  the  length  of  its  life.  To  be  sure,  folks  talk  as  agreeably 
as  they  can,  particularly  those  who  know  the  least  about  it.  "Ah 
my  dear  Sir,  I  see  you  are  coming  out.  Glad  of  it — am  sure  you'll 
have  great  success."  And  yet  that  ass  hasn't  seen  a  line  of  the 
play;  and  if  he  had,  couldn't  understand  it.  Men  don't  know  how 
to  flatter:  The  women  are  better  at  it.  I  am  disposed  to  be 
sanguine  enough — that  is  my  temperament.  But  I  have  just  been 
staring  hard  at  the  world,  and  the  view  chills  my  anticipations. 
I  see  W.  a  worthy  fellow  educated  to  a  liberal  profession.  He  was 
ambitious,  and  although  modest  in  all  his  deportment,  thought, 
or  hoped  himself  a  genius.  He  was  infatuated  with  the  stage,  and 
converted  his  passion  into  a  talent  for  it;  he  admired  Lord  Byron 
and  Shakespeare,  and  mistook  his  admiration  for  genius.  He 
sacrificed  his  profession  and  made  a  debut,  intending,  as  soon  as 
well  introduced  to  the  public,  to  produce  plays  of  his  own  writing, 
acted  by  himself.  His  acting  was  a  failure.  He  has  gone  to  England 
with  a  play  and  that  will  be  a  failure.  I  see  others  making  similar 
mistakes.  Why  may  not  I?  And  yet,  as  Melpomene^^  has  vanished 
from  the  Old  World — to  be  instrumental  in  naturalizing  her  in 
the  New — and  to  have  Englishmen  re-publishers  for  American 
dramatists !  Such  things  may  be  thought  of  in  secret. 

Our  theatres  are  in  a  lamentable  condition,  and  not  at 
fashionable.  To  write  for,  and  be  admired  by  the  groundling 
villains,  that  will  clap  most,  when  you  are  most  nonsensical,  and 
applaud  you  most  heartily  when  you  are  most  vulgar !  that  will  call 
you  "a  genius,  by  G.  .  .  .,"  when  you  can  make  the  judicious 
grieve,  and  "a  witty  devil,"  when  you  can  force  a  woman  to 
blush!  Fine,  fine,  fine,  fine.  But  consider  the  freedom  of  an 
American  author.  If  The  Gladiator  were  produced  in  a  slave 
state,  the  managers,  players,  and  perhaps  myself  into  the  bargain, 
would  be  rewarded  with  the  Penitentiary !  Happy  States !  At  this 
present  moment  there  are  6  or  800  armed  negroes  marching 
through  Southampton  County,  Virginia,  murdering,  ravishing, 
and  burning  those  whom  the  Grace  of  God  has  made  their 
owners — 70  killed,  principally  women  and  children.  If  they  had 
but  a  Spartacus  among  them — to  organize  the  half  million  of 

[16] 


^ 


Virginia,  the  hundreds  of  thousands  of  the  states,  and  lead  them 
on  in  the  Crusade  of  Massacre,  what  a  blessed  example  might 
they  not  give  to  the  world  of  the  excellence  of  slavery !  what  a 
field  of  interest  to  the  playwriters  of  posterity!  Some  day  we 
shall  have  it,  and  future  generations  will  perhaps  remember  the 
horrors  of  Haiti  as  a  farce  compared  with  the  tragedies  of  our 
own  happy  land !  The  vis  et  amor  sceleratus  habendP'^  will  be  repaid, 
violence  with  violence,  and  avarice  with  blood.  I  had  sooner  live 
among  bedbugs  than  negroes. 

N.B.  The  men  were  at  a  Camp  Meeting.  Had  they  stayed  at 
home  minding  their  own  business,  instead  of  God's,  this  thing 
would  not  have  happened. ^^ 

But  the  play,  the  play— Ay,  the  play's  the  thing.  What  a  fool 
I  was  to  think  of  writing  plays !  To  be  sure,  they  are  much  wanted. 
But  these  novels  are  much  easier  sorts  of  things,  and  immortalize 
one's  pocket  much  sooner.  A  tragedy  takes,  or  should  take,  as 
much  labour  as  two  romances;  and  one  comedy  as  much  as  six 
tragedies.-*^  How  blessedly  and  lazily,  in  making  a  novel,  a  man 
may  go  spinning  and  snoring  over  his  quires!  here  scribbling 
acres  of  fine  vapid  dialogue,  and  there  scrawling  out  regions  of 
descriptions  about  roses  and  old  weather-beaten  houses.  I  think 
I  could  manufacture  a  novel  every  quarter.  But  to  be  set  down 
in  brotherhood  with  the  asses  that  are  doing  these  sort  of  things; 
and  a  hundred  years  hence,  have  my  memory  covered  in  three 
lines  of  a  Biographical  Dictionary,  as  one  of  the  herd  of  liars  of 
the  last  century!  I  had  sooner  be  pickled  with  navy  pork,  and 
eaten  as  soon  as  I  was  preserved.  And  yet  the  alternative — to  be 
chronicled  with  such  fellows  as  Thiel,  and  Knowles,  and  Payne, 
and  Peake^^ — How  monosyllabic  we  dramatists  be!  But  our 
genius  is  as  diminutive  as  our  names.  Nevertheless,  a  dramatist 
deserves  honour  far  above  a  romancer — any  thing  Mr.  Godwin 
says  to  the  contrary  notwithstanding;  and  the  qualities  necessary 
to  one  who  would  write  a  first-rate  play  would,  if  concentred  in 
one  individual,  make  him  almost  a  god.^^ 

He  should  have,  in  the  first  place,  invention,  which  is  the  rarest 
and  noblest  species  of  imagination;  imagination  itself,  or  in  other 
words,  poetic  fancy,  and  with  this  he  should  have  common  sense. 
He  should  possess  the  sanguine  and  fiery  ardour  of  an  oriental, 

[17] 


with  the  phlegmatic  judgement  of  a  German;  he  should  be  in 
himself  capable  of  feeling,  in  the  extremes,  all  the  passions  which 
elevate  and  debase,  which  subdue  and  torture  the  mind;  and  at 
the  same  time  should  mingle  with  them  a  cold-blooded  and  re- 
straining philosophy.  He  should  be  familiar  with  the  world  and 
have,  by  intuition  (for  that  is  the  only  way  for  a  poet  to  get  it, 
though  folks  don't  know  it),  a  thorough  knowledge  of  human 
nature.  He  should  in  short  be  at  once  a  poet,  orator,  wit  and 
philosopher.  And  in  fine,  he  should  be  able  to  carry  on  two  kinds 
of  operations  in  his  mind,  at  one  and  the  same  time — that  is,  1 
to  create^  and  to  fancy  his  creations  acting.  These  are  a  few  of  the 
qualities  necessary  to  a  dramatist;  and  one  may  easily  see  how  i 
impossible  it  is  for  them  all  to  be  in  possession  of  one  man. 

i 
October  26th 

Sept  [ember]  26th  at  the  Park  Theatre,  New  York,  The  Gladiator 
was  performed  for  the  first  time.  That  evening  there  fell  such 
torrents  of  rain  as  had  not  visited  New  York  for  15  or  20  y[ea]rs. 
Nevertheless,  the  house  was  crammed — the  amount  being  about 
1400  dol[lar]s.  The  Park  Company  is  the  most  wretched  in  the 
country.  Last  summer,  the  managers  promised  to  get  up  the  play 
with  some  sort  of  splendour.  But  Mr.  Price  came  home;  and  I 
suppose  it  was  he  that  caused  them  to  break  their  word.  There 
never  was  a  play  more  miserably  got  up — old  dresses,  old  scenes — 
many  of  them  full  of  absurdities — and  to  crown  all,  the  per- 
formers, with  but  one  or  two  exceptions,  were  horribly  imperfect. 
If  there  had  been  a  wish  among  the  managers  to  have  the  play 
damned,  they  could  not  have  taken  a  better  course.  Some  folks 
give  them  credit  for  this  amiable  wish;  but  as  for  myself,  I  think 
they  were  simply  indifferent  about  it,  thinking,  as  a  matter  of 
course,  it  would  follow  the  fate  of  most  other  American  plays.  It 
was  a  horrible  piece  of  bungling  from  beginning  to  end.  And 
such  performers !  Such  a  Julia !  such  a  Florus !  such  lanistae!  and 
etc.  Nevertheless,  and  surprising  to  be  said,  it  was  very  much 
applauded,  which  circumstance,  I  suppose,  put  the  actors  upon  \ 
studying  their  parts  more  and  playing  better.  i 

Next  morning,  Mr,  Webbe,  of  the  Courier  and  Inquirer,  made  a 
savage  attack  upon  the  piece,  saying  it  was  damned.  This  was  the 

[18] 


first  paper  I  saw.  I  wonder  if  Mr.  Webbe  understands  the  mean- 
ing of  the  phrase  "to  thrust  an  iron  into  one's  soul?"  He  used  a 
note  of  admiration,  too,  after  the  "damned"  —  (damned!)  as  if  he 
desired  to  show  exultation! — Nice  man!  To  gratify  a  pique  against 
Mr.  Forrest,  he  was  wilHng  to  give  me  a  stab;  and  he  did  it.  But 
I  forgive  him;  for  his  condemnation  was  a  blunder,  which,  to- 
gether with  his  attempt  to  back  out  of  it,  did  the  play  so  much 
good,  by  exciting  more  curiosity,  that  I  was  at  last  able  to  laugh 
instead  of  frowning  at  Mr.  Webbe.  Nevertheless  he  is  a  scoundrel. 
The  Gladiator  was  enacted  4  times  at  New  York,  to  good  houses; 
and  was  more  and  more  applauded  every  successive  night,  be- 
cause every  successive  night  the  actors  were  so  much  the  more 
perfect.  All  the  editors  praised  it,  and  even  the  rascal,  Webbe, 
allowed  he  was  delighted  with  the  "bold  imagery  and  beautiful 
language,"  and  be  hanged  to  him. 

The  Epilogue  was  well  done  by  Mrs.  Sharpe.^^ 
October  24th  was  its  first  night  in  Philad[elphia].  The  jam  of 
visitors  was  tremendous;  hundreds  returning  without  being  able 
to  get  seats  or  stands.  An  American  feeling  was  beginning"  to  show 
itself  in  all  theatrical  matters.  The  managers  of  the  Arch  St. 
Theatre  were  Americans,  all  their  chief  performers  were  Ameri- 
can, and  the  play  was  written  by  an  American.  The  play  was 
very  well  got  up  "considering" — new  dresses,  scenes  and  etc.  It 
was  played  with  a  roar  of  applause,  and  bravoed  to  the  echo.  All 
which  was  comfortable  enough.  Played  4  times  [to]  full  houses. 
Forrest  is  undoubtedly  the  best  man  for  Spartacus  in  Christen- 
dom; in  which  his  figure  and  physi[que]  show  to  the  best  ad- 
vantage, and  his  voice  and  muscle  hold  out  to  the  last.  I  think  no 
other  man  could  sustain  the  labours  of  the  part.  Scott  is  a  most 
excellent  Phasarius,  and  makes  amends  for  not  always  being 
perfect  to  a  letter  in  the  text,  by  going  to  the  business  with  a  will, 
which  tells  as  favourably  for  himself  as  for  the  author.  He  gives  great 
effect  to  the  crucifixion  speech,  expressing  such  a  mixture  of  terror 
and  horror  as  can't  help  being  communicated  to  the  audience. 

Dec[embe\r  14th. 

The  Glad[iator]  has  been  performed  at  Boston  and  with  good 
success.  I  have  however  been  disappointed  in  not  finding  any 

[19] 


very  lengthy  or  judgematical  reviews,  particularly  as  the  Boston 
critics  have  a  pretty  good  opinion  of  their  own  abilities,  and  as 
some  of  my  friends  chose  to  expect  their  decision  with  some 
anxiety  and  trepidation. 

Another  evidence  of  the  qualifications  of  a  Boston  critic  is 
shown  (I  forget  the  paper)  in  the  manner  in  which  the  gentleman 
prints  the  Mount  Haemus  speech.  I  had  no  idea,  that  the  mere 
destruction  of  the  metre  could  make  the  speech  so  nonsensical. 
He,  however,  has  made  it  nonsense  and  yet  praises  it.  The  man 
who  can  relish  nonsense,  and  commend  it,  is  a  pretty  critic. 

The  criticisms  by  F.  in  the  U.  S.  Gazette,  were,  however,  written 
by  a  Boston  gentleman,  and  are  evidently  done  by  one  who 
knows  what  he  is  about. ^^ 

The  Galaxy  is  favourable,  but  makes  such  a  blunder  as  must 
needs  destroy  all  the  writer's  claims  to  the  character  of  a  critic. ^^ 
"In  the  higher  branch  of  the  drama,  namely  that  which  is  meant  for 
the  closet,  etc.,  etc."  Good  God!  what  an  ass!  There  never  yet 
lived  a  man  who  could  write  decent  blank  verse,  that  could 
within  a  word  or  two,  turn  you  out  a  respectable  closet  drama. 
'Tis  as  easy  as  lying.  And  yet  of  the  thousands  such — the  multi- 
tudes who  could,  and  who  have  manufactured  closet  plays,  there 
are  but  two  or  three  who  could  produce  a  good  stage  play.  There- 
fore, because  any  body  can  write  a  play  for  the  closet,  the  closet 
branch  of  the  drama  is  the  higher  and  nobler!  Now  could  I 
laugh,  but  that  I  am  too  melancholy:  and  besides,  I  would  as 
soon  make  a  jest  as  a  laugh,  when  I  am  alone — I  keep  such  mat- 
ters for  company.  I  do  say,  and  without  caring  how  the  assertion 
may  be  understood  as  self-gratulation,  that  there  is  as  much 
difference  (considered  in  relation  to  the  quantity  of  intellect  neces- 
sary to  this  production)  between  a  first  rate  stage  and  a  first  rate 
closet  play,  as  there  is  between  Niagara  and  Montmorenci, 
between  Lake  Superior  and  Lake  George,  between  the  Andes  and 
the  Alleghanies.  I  can  rant  upon  this  theme.  I  will  grant  that 
there  is  more  genius  shown  in  Manjred  than  in  William  Tell;  in 
Sampson  Agonistes  than  in  Virginius;  in  The  Cenci  than  in  Damon;  in 
Hadad  (which,  however,  I  have  not  yet  read)  than  in  Brutus  and 
perhaps  The  Gladiator.  This  I  grant,  because  in  the  aforemen- 
tioned stage  plays  there  is  no  genius  at  all.  I  am  not  such  a  bigot 

[20] 


as  to  suppose  a  mere  knack  at  effect  gives  one  any  claim  to  the 
credit  of  intellect.  A  man  may  acquire  this  knack,  as  he  acquires 
the  art  of  making  shoes,  and  yet  acquire  nothing  else;  or  he  may 
be  born  with  it,  and  born  with  nothing  else,  as  some  are  born 
with  a  talent  for  cutting  out  breeches,  and  born  with  nothing  else. 
The  faculty  of  poetry  is  a  superior  endowment  to  the  faculty  of 
effect;  but  the  first  in  [the]  possession  of  one  man,  makes  him  the 
inferior  of  the  man  that  has  both.  Otway's  poetic  faculty  was 
inferior  to  Byron's  and  Coleridge's;  but  having — what  they  had 
not — the  dramatic  faculty  along  with  his  poetic,  his  Venice 
Preserved  must  be  regarded  as  a  nobler  effort  of  genius  than 
Werner^  and  his  Orphan  a  far  more  elevated  composition  than  The 
Remorse.  No  man  in  his  senses  will  deny  that  genius  is  a  concatena- 
tion of  separate  faculties;  that,  these  being  equal,  he  has  the 
greatest  genius  who  has  the  greatest  number  of  faculties  combined 
in  his  own  person;  and  that  he  who  has  written  a  masterly  drama, 
must  have  had  more  of  these  faculties  than  he  who  has  written 
merely  a  fine  dramatic  poem,  and  therefore  must  rank  in  a  higher 
scale  of  intellect.  This  reservation  must  be  considered:  One  man 
may  have  the  greater  number  of  faculties,  none  of  them,  how- 
ever, separately  of  any  great  account;  while  another  man  may 
have  but  one  faculty,  and  yet  that  one  in  admirable  perfection.  It 
is  then  a  question,  whether  the  one  may  not  elevate  the  possessor 
far  above  him  who  has  the  many.  But  with  this  question  I  have  no 
business.  I  allow  and  insist,  that  a  good  play  can't  be  written 
unless  by  a  poet;  and  thence  it  is  nothing  but  common  sense  and 
common  justice  to  rank  a  good  dramatist  over  a  good  poet.  Poets 
will  hereafter  grin  at  this,  and  prove  that  I  am  no  dramatist. 

NOTES 

1.  The  author  wishes  to  thank  Mrs.  R.  M.  Bird  and  Mrs.  Neda  West- 
lake  for  their  kindness  in  permitting  him  to  utilize  materials  in  the 
Bird  Collection  at  the  University  of  Pennsylvania. 

2.  Arthur  Hornblow,  A  History  of  the  Theatre  in  America  (Philadelphia, 
1919),  II,  49. 

3.  American  Magazine  and  Monthly  Chronicle,  I  (1757),  117,  in  Frank 
Luther  Mott,  A  History  of  American  Magazines  1741-1850  (Cam- 
bridge, 1939),  p.  54. 

[21] 


4.  John  Neal,  Blackwoods  Magazine,  XVI  (1824),  567,  in  Mott, 
pp.  169f. 

5.  Hornblow,  II,  58;  cf.  p.  71 :  William  Wood's  diary  "shows  no  refer- 
ence to  payments  made  to  dramatists.  .  .  ."  Wood  was  manager 
of  the  Chestnut  Street  Theatre  in  Philadelphia  from  1810-1827. 

6.  Bird  Ms  Collection. 

7.  "The  Diaries  of  Sydney  George  Fisher  1837-1838,"  Pennsylvania 
Magazine  of  History  and  Biography,  LXXVI,  3  (1952),  330-352 
(Second  Part). 

8.  Joseph  Cephas  Carroll,  Slave  Insurrections  in  the  United  States  1800- 
7865  (Boston,  1938),  p.  133;  Herbert  Aptheker,  Negro  Slave  Revolts  in 
the  United  States  1526-1860  (New  York,  1939),  pp.  40-44,  71. 

9.  Slavery  was  a  problem  upon  which  Bird  evidently  brooded.  His 
manuscripts  contain  occasional  references  to  it,  and  he  was  to  touch 
upon  it  once  more  in  print  in  his  psychologically  tinged  novel 
Sheppard  Lee,  published  in  1836.  In  one  part  he  shows  how  strongly 
a  pamphlet.  An  Address  to  the  Owners  of  Slaves,  affects  the  semi- 
literate  negroes  who  manage  to  read  it.  By  it  they  are  incited  to  rise 
against  a  genuinely  good  master  and  his  family,  the  consequences 
of  which  action  are  catastrophic  for  both  sides.  Thus,  Bird  seems  to 
have  changed  his  attitude  toward  slavery,  becoming  conservative, 
inasmuch  as  he  dreaded  any  kind  of  revolt,  any  change  in  the 
status  quo.  {Sheppard  Lee  [New  York,  1836],  vol.  II,  pp.  181-211). 

10.  William  Winter,  Other  Days  Being  Chronicles  and  Memories  of  the  Stage 
(New  York,  1908),  pp.  36fr. 

11.  Edward  S.  Gould,  "American  Criticism  on  American  Authors," 
Mew  York  Mirror,  XIII  (1836),  321,  in  Mott,  p.  40/=. 

12.  Arcturus,  I  (1841),  149,  in  Mott,  idem. 

13.  New  York  Standard,  September  9,  1831. 

14.  Mercantile  Advertiser,  October  10,  1831. 

15.  New  York  Evening  Post,  September  29,  1831. 

16.  Boston  Evening  Transcript,  November  11,  1831;  New  England  Galaxy, 
November  19,  1831. 

17.  United  States  Gazette,  October  31,  1831. 

18.  New  York  Inquirer,  September  29,  1831. 

[22] 


19.  Rene  Wellek,  A  History  of  Modern  Criticism:  1750-1950.  The  Romantic 
Age  (New  Haven,  1955),  p.  164. 

20.  Ibid.,  p.  20. 

21 .  "As  quaestor  it  fell  to  his  lot  to  serve  in  Farther  Spain.  When  he  was 
there,  while  making  the  circuit  of  the  assize-towns,  to  hold  court 
under  commission  from  the  praetor,  he  came  to  Gades,  and  noticing 
a  statue  of  Alexander  the  Great  in  the  temple  of  Hercules,  he 
heaved  a  sigh,  and  as  if  out  of  patience  with  his  own  incapacity  in 
having  as  yet  done  nothing  noteworthy  at  a  time  of  life  when 
Alexander  had  already  brought  the  world  to  his  feet,  he  straightway 
asked  for  his  discharge,  to  grasp  the  first  opportunity  for  greater 
enterprises  at  Rome."  (Suetonius,  "The  Deified  Julius,"  J.  C. 
Rolfe,  tr.  [London,  1924],  vol.  I,  pp.  9,  11). 

22.  Actually,  Congreve's  first  play  was  produced  when  he  was  23,  and 
he  wrote  his  last  play  at  30,  while  Sheridan  began  at  24,  writing 
his  School  for  Scandal  at  26. 

23.  The  muse  of  tragedy,  one  of  the  nine  daughters  of  Zeus  and 
Mnemosyne. 

24.  "Force,  and  the  base  love  of  gain."  (Ovid,  Metamorphoses,  bk.  I,  vs. 
131  [editor's  tr.]). 

25.  This  refers  to  Nat  Turner's  rebellion  (see  Introduction). 

26.  In  a  Ms  review  (1828?)  of  Johanna  Bailie's  The  Bride,  Bird  draws 
an  interesting  comparison  between  the  two  media:  "Novel  writing 
is  to  dramatic  what  painting  is  to  sculpture;  the  one  is  a  single  view 
of  an  object,  with  a  few  lines  and  shadows;  the  other  requires  all 
possible  views  of  that  object,  where  nothing  can  be  left  imperfect." 

27.  Of  these  dramatists,  no  information  could  be  found  concerning 
Thiel.  James  Sheridan  Knowles  (1784-1862),  a  cousin  of  Richard 
Brinsley  Sheridan,  wrote  plays  for  William  Macready,  among 
them,  Caius  Gracchus  (1815)  and  Virginius  (1820).  He  also  wrote 
comedies  (e.g.  The  Beggar^ s  Daughter  of  Bethnal  Green)  and  miscel- 
laneous prose.  John  Howard  Payne  (1791-1852),  an  American  who 
wrote  many  of  his  plays  in  England,  wrote,  among  others,  Brutus 
(1819),  Clari,  or  the  Maid  of  Milan  (1823) —  which  contains  his 
famous  song  "Home  Sweet  Home" — and  Charles  the  Second  (1824). 
Richard  Brinsley  Peake  (1792-1847)  was  a  writer  of  musical  farces 
and  comedies,  including  Presumption,  or  the  Fate  of  Frankenstein  (1823) 
and  The  Haunted  Inn  (1828).  He  also  was  treasurer  of  the  Lyceum 
Theatre. 

[23] 


28.  Bird  may  have  had  in  mind  Wilham  Godwin,  who  states  in  The 
Enquirer  (London,  \191),  p.  285,  "Poetry  itself  however  affords  but 
an  uncertain  reputation.  Is  Pope  a  poet?  Is  Boileau  a  poet?  These 
are  questions  still  vehemently  contested.  The  French  despise  the 
tragic  poetry  of  England,  and  the  English  repay  their  scorn  with 
scorn.  .  .  .  The  reputation  of  Shakespear  endures  every  day  a 
new  ordeal.  ..." 

29.  This  epilogue  has  not  survived. 

30.  This  paragraph  and  the  one  preceding  appear  at  the  end  of  the  Ms, 
apparently  as  an  afterthought.  The  author  has  inserted  them  here 
to  maintain  the  continuity  of  Bird's  particular  discussion. 

31.  See  note  16. 


[24] 


DEXTER  AWARD  PRESENTATION 


The  Dexter  Award  in  History  of  Chemistry 

to  Eva  Armstrong 

Wyndham  D.  Miles* 

AMONG  the  medals  and  prizes  awarded  in  science  and  arts, 
Lthe  Dexter  Award  in  History  of  Chemistry  stands  unique  in 
its  field.  The  Award,  consisting  of  five  hundred  dollars  and  a 
handsome  plaque,  was  established  three  years  ago  through  the 
generosity  of  the  Dexter  Chemical  Corporation,  and  is  adminis- 
tered by  the  Division  of  History,  American  Chemical  Society. 
The  winner  in  1956  was  Ralph  E.  Oesper,  Professor  of  Chemistry 
at  the  University  of  Cincinnati,  author  and  translator  of  scores  of 
articles  on  history  of  chemistry,  and  a  teacher  of  history  of 
chemistry  for  three  decades.  In  1957  William  Haynes,  America's 
foremost  authority  on  the  history  of  industrial  chemistry,  and 
author  of  a  dozen  books  including  the  monumental  six-volume 
History  of  American  Chemical  Industry,  received  the  prize.  This  year 
Miss  Eva  Armstrong,  former  curator  of  the  Edgar  Fahs  Smith 
Memorial  Collection  has  been  chosen  by  the  judges. 

In  electing  Miss  Armstrong  from  among  a  score  of  nominees, 
the  judges  followed  the  criteria  set  up  by  the  Division  of  History: 
"The  award  shall  be  made  on  the  basis  of  services  which  have  ad- 
vanced the  history  of  chemistry  in  any  of  the  following  ways:  by 
publication  of  an  important  book  or  article;  by  the  furtherance  of 
the  teaching  of  the  history  of  chemistry;  by  significant  contribu- 
tions to  the  bibliography  of  the  history  of  chemistry;  or  by  meri- 
torious services  over  a  long  period  of  time  which  have  resulted  in 
the  advancement  of  the  history  of  chemistry." 

These  rules  were  made  purposely  broad  so  that  anyone  who 
has  done  significant  work  in  any  phase  of  chemical  history  would 
be  eligible  for  the  Award.  Miss  Armstrong  was  chosen  not  for 
activity  in  a  single  field,  but  rather  for  the  stimulation,  inspiration 
and  assistance  that  she  contributed  to  the  history  of  chemistry 
over  a  long  period  of  years. 

Her  greatest  contribution  lay  in  building  up  the  Smith  Collec- 
tion to  a  position  of  international  prominence.  The  nucleus  of  this 

*  Historical  Office,  United  States  Army  Chemical  Corps,  Army  Chemical 
Center,  Maryland. 

[25] 


collection  was  assembled  by  Smith  during  the  many  years  that  he 
was  Professor  of  Chemistry  and  Provost  of  the  University  of 
Pennsylvania.  After  his  death  in  1927,  Mrs.  Smith  donated  the 
library  to  the  University.  It  was  housed  in  Smith's  old  office  in 
Harrison  laboratory  for  a  quarter  of  a  century,  and  then  moved 
a  few  years  ago  to  its  present  quarters  in  the  Hare  building — an 
appropriate  place,  as  Robert  Hare  was  America's  greatest  ante 
bellum  chemist.  Miss  Armstrong  assumed  the  post  of  curator  in 
1929  when  the  Collection  was  first  opened  to  the  public.  At  that 
time  it  contained  approximately  3,000  volumes,  1,800  prints,  and 
600  manuscripts.  By  1948,  the  year  Miss  Armstrong  retired,  the 
numbers  had  jumped  to  7,700  volumes,  3,400  prints,  and  1,400 
manuscripts.  Since  1948  Miss  Armstrong  has  continued  to  order 
for  the  Collection. 

There  is  no  need  to  describe  here  the  holdings  of  the  Smith 
Memorial  Collection;  Miss  Armstrong  has  done  it  herself  in  the 
following  articles:  "Some  Treasures  in  the  E.  F.  Smith  Collec- 
tion," General  Magazine  and  Historical  Chronicle  25  (1933),  3-12; 
"Some  Incidents  in  the  Collection  of  the  E.  F.  Smith  Memorial 
L.ihra.ry,''^  Journal  of  Chemical  Education  10  (1933),  356-358;  "Play- 
ground of  a  Scientist,"  Scientific  Monthly  42  (1936),  339-348;  and 
"Edgar  Fahs  Smith  Memorial  Collection  in  the  History  of 
Chemistry,"  21  pages,  privately  published,  University  of  Penn- 
sylvania, 1937. 

It  is  a  heavy  responsibility  to  spend  thousands  of  dollars  each 
year  for  books  in  a  specialized  field.  If  the  purchaser  does  not 
know  the  history  of  the  field  thoroughly  and  does  not  realize  the 
significance  of  certain  books,  then  she  will  load  the  shelves  with 
"furniture"  or  with  mediocre,  second-rate  works  while  she  lets 
important  items  slip  by.  Money  and  space  will  be  wasted,  as  will 
be  the  time  of  people  who  visit  the  collection  in  search  of  material 
and  then  have  to  go  elsewhere.  The  fine,  significant  holdings  of 
the  Smith  Collection  are  a  tribute  to  the  sound  knowledge,  thor- 
ough scholarship,  and  collector's  acumen  possessed  by  Miss 
Armstrong. 

Statistics  and  holdings  alone  do  not  tell  the  whole  story  of  the 
Collection.  Miss  Armstrong's  skill  as  a  collector  was  matched  by 
her  accomplishments  as  a  researcher.  She  read  the  books  that 

[26] 


came  into  her  keeping.  She  knew  where  to  lay  her  hands  on  out- 
of-the-way  facts,  to  find  the  path  that  led  back  to  the  source  of 
data,  ideas,  concepts  and  quotations,  and  how  to  track  elusive 
information.  European  chemists  corresponded  with  her  when 
they  sought  information  on  the  history  of  American  chemistry. 
American  chemists  wrote  or  visited  her  when  they  needed  data 
on  American  or  foreign  chemical  history.  The  guest  book  of  the 
Smith  Collection  carries  the  names  of  chemists  from  every  state  in 
the  Union,  from  Australia,  New  Zealand,  the  Philippines,  Turkey, 
Egypt,  Brazil,  India,  Colombia,  China,  Syria,  Canada,  Cuba, 
Japan,  South  Africa,  Argentina,  Ecuador,  Mexico,  and  all  the 
countries  of  Europe.  The  book  reads  like  a  Wholes  Who  in  Chemistry. 
On  its  pages  are  the  signatures  of  ten  presidents  of  the  American 
Chemical  Society;  three  Nobel  prize  winners  (Harold  C.  Urey, 
Theodor  Svedberg  of  Sweden,  and  Wendell  M.  Stanley) ;  James 
B.  Conant,  President  of  Harvard;  Charles  H.  LaWall,  historian 
of  pharmacy;  George  Sarton,  historian  of  science;  James  Flexner, 
historian  of  medicine;  and  every  prominent  American  historian 
of  chemistry  of  the  past  thirty  years. 

A  partial  record  of  the  writers  who  were  indebted  to  Miss 
Armstrong  may  be  found  in  the  prefaces  of  many  histories  pub- 
lished in  the  1930's  and  '40's.  On  my  shelves  are  Smallwood's 
Natural  History  and  the  American  Mind,  French's  Torch  &  Crucible^ 
Getman's  Life  of  Ira  Remsen,  Kendall's  Toung  Chemists  and  Great 
Discoveries,  Odger's  Alexander  Dallas  Bache,  Browne's  Source  Book 
of  Agricultural  Chemistry,  and  several  other  books  that  state  their 
thanks  to  Miss  Armstrong.  On  the  shelves  of  the  Smith  Collection 
are  books  whose  authors  were  skimpy  with  their  printed  acknowl- 
edgments, but  who  remembered  Miss  Armstrong  with  presenta- 
tion copies  ("Miss  Eva  Armstrong,  with  thanks  for  your  interest 
and  help,  .  .  .  ."  "To  Miss  Armstrong  with  many  thanks  for  the 
encouragement  and  assistance  rendered,   .  .  .  ." 

Not  the  least  of  Miss  Armstrong's  contributions  to  chemical 
history  were  her  published  writings.  From  1933  until  1948,  a 
steady  stream  of  articles  flowed  from  her  desk  to  the  Journal  of 
Chemical  Education,  Scientific  Monthly,  General  Magazine  and  Historical 
Chronicle,  Library  Chronicle,  Isis,  Pennsylvania  Triangle,  Dickinson 
Alumnus,  and   Chymia.  Her  articles   on  Thomas    Cooper,  Jane 

[27] 


Marcet,  Benjamin  Rush,  and  her  "History  of  Chemistry  in 
America"  (with  Charles  A.  Browne)  were  httle  gems.  Her  last 
publication  was  the  foreword  to  volume  I  of  Chymia,  written  in 
1948  while  she  was  Secretary  of  the  Board  of  Editors. 

Published  articles  were  only  a  part  of  Miss  Armstrong's  con- 
tribution to  history.  She  spoke  on  many  occasions  before  groups 
working  in  her  field.  These  included  the  Division  of  History  of 
the  American  Chemical  Society,  the  Special  Libraries  Council  of 
Philadelphia,  and  student  groups. 

Finally,  Miss  Armstrong  assisted  the  history  of  chemistry 
movement  in  this  country  in  an  unusual  way:  by  encouraging 
young  chemists  who  had  a  yen  for  history.  These  people  did  not 
get  encouragement  from  the  chemistry  departments  of  their  em- 
ployers, but  they  got  it  from  the  Smith  Collection.  And  they 
appreciated  it.  I  still  remember  my  first  historical  article.  It  came 
out  in  a  journal  with  a  circulation  of  some  ten  thousand,  and  I 
figured  that  someone  would  notice  it.  But  the  days  passed  and  no 
one  said  a  word  and  my  spirits  sank  lower  and  lower.  Then  came 
a  letter  (still  in  my  files)  requesting  a  reprint,  and  saying  of  my 
article,  "it  is  an  extremely  interesting  account  of  a  little  known 
chemist  and  author.  Yours  sincerely,  Eva  Armstrong."  The  sun 
came  out  again,  and  Miss  Armstrong  was  my  friend  for  life. 

Miss  Armstrong  received  the  1958  Dexter  Award  at  a  luncheon 
held  in  her  honor  by  the  Division  of  History  of  the  American 
Chemical  Society  and  the  chemistry  alumni  of  the  University  of 
Pennsylvania  at  the  Chicago  meeting  of  the  American  Chemical 
Society  in  September. 


[28] 


The  Programmschriften  Collection 

Albert  R.  Schmitt* 

EARLY  in  1954  the  University  of  Pennsylvania  Library  ac- 
quired a  collection  of  16,128  pamphlets.  By  their  German 
name  they  are  called  Programmschriften  and  this  particular  collec- 
tion, bound  in  691  individual  volumes,  originated  in  the  library 
of  the  former  Koniglich-und  Kaiserliches  Erstes  Staatsgymnasium  in 
Graz,  Austria,  and  was  purchased  from  a  Swiss  dealer.  Before 
World  War  I  most  Gymnasien  in  the  German  speaking  countries 
of  Europe  published  statistical  reports  called  Programme  at  the  end 
of  each  academic  year.  Usually  there  was  added  to  these  reports 
a  scholarly  paper  written  by  the  school  director  or  by  one  of  the 
teachers  on  some  topic  relating  to  the  author's  field  of  specializa- 
tion. Under  a  written  agreement  the  various  schools  exchanged 
reports  annually  in  order  to  aid  the  members  of  their  teaching 
staffs  in  research  since  frequently  access  to  a  university  library 
was  difficult  and  the  number  of  scientific  journals  scarce.  Often 
the  motivation  behind  these  articles  was  the  author's  hope  of 
obtaining  a  professorship  at  a  university.  Thus,  it  is  not  unusual 
for  the  reader  of  these  Programmschriften  today  to  find  interesting 
and  highly  valuable  information  in  them.  Since  general  biblio- 
graphical reference  works  often  fail  to  mention  these  articles  it  is 
hoped  that  the  catalog  which  has  been  prepared  for  our  own 
collection  will  aid  in  making  them  available  and  usable  to  inter- 
ested scholars. 

During  recent  months  the  Library  has  undertaken  the  task  of 
evaluating  and  indexing  the  more  important  articles  in  the 
Programmschriften  Collection.  Of  the  total  of  16,128  pamphlets 
issued  by  Gymnasien  in  Germany  and  the  Austrian  Empire  in  the 
period  1850-1918,  slightly  more  than  one  third  deal  with  sub- 
jects in  the  humanities.  These  are  the  most  valuable  and  two 
separate  catalogs,  an  author  and  a  subject  catalog,  are  in  prepa- 
ration that  will  reveal  the  holdings  in  the  field  of  humanities.  Both 
catalogs  will  be  available  at  the  Union  Library  Catalog  and  at 
the  Reference  Desk  of  the  Main  Library.  A  bound  index  will  be 

*  Department  of  Germanic  Languages,  University  of  Pennsylvania. 

[29] 


shelved  with  the  collection  in  the  stacks  and  will  carry  as  a  title 
Index  to  the  Programmschriften  Collection  of  the  University  of  Pennsyl- 
vania Library.  This  index  volume  will  have  the  classification 
number  373.43C/M698/gen.lib.  under  which  the  whole  collec- 
tion has  been  catalogued.  The  balance  of  the  collection,  slightly 
less  than  two  thirds,  deals  with  the  fields  of  pure  and  applied 
science.  Because  most  of  this  material  is  obsolescent  today  and  of 
limited  interest  and  value,  no  effort  has  been  made  to  include 
these  articles  in  either  the  author  or  the  subject  catalog.  However, 
articles  dealing  with  the  history  of  science  have  been  included. 
These  catalogs  will  contain  volume  and  article  information.  The 
number  of  the  article  within  a  volume  appears  in  pencil  in  the 
upper  right  hand  corner  of  each  title  page  for  ready  location 
within  the  volume.  In  addition,  the  Serials  Department  is  in  the 
process  of  preparing  cards  for  the  Public  Catalog  which  will  indi- 
cate, by  issuing  Gymnasium  and  by  year,  the  entire  holdings  of 
the  Programmschriften  Collection.  Anyone  desiring  to  locate  a 
pamphlet  not  included  in  the  author  and  subject  catalogs  should 
find  the  appropriate  volume  number  by  consulting  the  Public 
Catalog. 

A  representative  selection  of  some  of  the  pamphlets  that  will  be 
included  in  the  author  and  subject  catalogs  follows.  It  is  hoped 
that  these  few  examples  will  give  an  indication  of  the  importance, 
nature,  and  range  of  the  pamphlets  in  such  fields  as  Classical, 
English,  German,  and  Romance  languages  and  literatures  as 
well  as  in  History  and  Philosophy. 

In  the  field  of  Classical  languages  and  literatures  some  1,300 
articles  have  been  selected  of  which  approximately  35  to  40 
percent  are  in  Latin.  Some  are  in  Greek.  Since  it  would  be  diffi- 
cult to  prepare  even  a  short  list  of  the  most  valuable  papers  it 
may  suffice  to  say  that  on  Aeschylus  there  are  45  articles,  on 
Aristophanes  25,  on  Aristotle  24  (dealing  with  literary  and 
linguistic  topics  only;  another  30  are  of  a  philosophical  nature), 
on  Julius  Caesar  29,  on  Catullus  21,  on  Curtius  Rufus  10,  on 
Cicero  105,  etc.  These  papers  are  concerned  with  various  prob- 
lems of  metrics,  versification,  style,  literary  criticism  and  gram- 
matical and  syntactic  aspects  as  well  as  comparative  studies  of 
manuscript  tradition. 

[30] 


ENGLISH  LANGUAGE  AND  LITERATURE 

Among  the  approximately  250  pamphlets  on  English  language  and 
literature  the  following  appear  to  be  of  special  scholarly  value.  The 
articles  are  listed  alphabetically  by  subject  and  contain  author,  title, 
and  classification  information. 

AELFRIC-ALLITERATION 

Brandeis,  Arthur,  Die  Alliteration  in  Aelfrics  metrischen  Homilien. 

615:17* 

ALFRED  THE  GREAT 

Miinch,  Rudolf,  Die  sprachliche  Bedeutung  der  Gesetzsammlung 
Kdnig  Alfreds  des  Grossen,  anj  Grund  einer  Untersuchung  der 
Handschrift  H  ( Textus  Roffensis) .  143:23 

BARBOUR,  JOHN 

Baudisch,  Julius,  Ein  Beitrag  zur  Kenntnis  der  fruher  Barbour 
zugeschriebenen  Legendensammlung.  598:13 

BYRON,  GEORGE  GORDON 

Drboschal,  Gottlieb,  Byrons  Einfiuss  auf  das  tschechische  Schrifttum 
des  Vormdrz.  306:16-17 

Kaiser,  Byron's  und  Delavignis  "Marino  Faliero."  142:2 

CHAUCER,  GEOFFREY 

Wihlidal,  Carl,  Chaucer's  "Knightes  Tale,"  with  an  abstract  of 
the  poet's  life.  108:10 

DRAMA— 16th  CENTURY 

Seifert,  Julius,  Die  "Wit  und  Science"— M or alitdten  des  16. 
Jahrhunderts.  265:14 

DRYDEN,  JOHN 

Ott,  Philipp,  Uber  das  Verhdltnis  des  Lustspiel-Dichters  Dryden  zur 
gleichzeitigenfranzosischen  Komodie,  insbesondere  zu  Moliere.     327:8 

HAVELOK  THE  DANE 

Wittenbrinck,  Gustav,  ^Mr  Kritik  und  Rhythmik  des  altenglischen 
Lais  von  Havelok  dem  Ddnen.  112:3 

*  The  numbers  indicate  volume  number,  e.g.  615,  and  article  number  within 
each  volume,  e.g.  :17.  Article  number  17  in  volume  615  will  therefore  be  given  as 
615:17. 

[31] 


KING  HART 

Horneber,  F.,  Uber  ^^King  Hart"  und  "  Testament  of  the  Papyngo." 

537:10 
LA3AMON 

Langschur,  Siegmund,  Beitrdge  zur  La  5  amon-Forschung.    240 : 1 4 

LITERATURE— WILLIAM  IH 

Zelle,  Julius,  Sur  Pimportance  du  regne  de  Guillaume  III.  pour  la 
litterature  anglaise.  290:4 

MARLOWE,  CHRISTOPHER 

Kellner,  L.,  ^ur  Sprache  Christopher  Marlowe'' s.  600:18 

MIDDLE  ENGLISH  LANGUAGE 

Burhenne,  Fritz,  Das  mittelenglische  Gedicht  "Stans  Puer  ad 
Mensam"  und  sein  Verhdltnis  zu  dhnlichen  Erzeugnissen  des  15. 
Jahrhunderts.  231:11 

Schmitt,  Friedrich,  Die  mittelenglische  Version  des  Elucidariums 
des  Honorius  Augustodunensis .  1 1 1 :22 

MOORE,  THOMAS 

Zuck,  Joseph,  Th.  Moores  "The  Love  of  the  Angels"  und  Lord 
Byrons  "Heaven  and  Earth."  623:1 

PHYSIOLOGUS 

Sokoll,  Eduard,  Z^m  angelsdchsischen  Physiologus.  ?>11:\ 

SHAKESPEARE,  WILLIAM 

Soffe,  Emil,  1st  " Mucedorus"  ein  Schauspiel  Shakspere' s?         99:8 

Boxhorn,  Richard,  Shakespeares  "Die  ^dhmung  der  Wider spen- 
stigen"  und  Fletchers  "Der  gezdhmte  ^dhmer."  275:29 

Steinschneider,  G.,  Das  Pseudo-Shakspere' sche  Drama  Fair  Em. 

468:13 

SKELTON,  JOHN 

Krumpholz,  Heinrich,  John  Skelton  und  sein  Morality  Play 
"Magnyfycence."  468:4 

Many  more  could  have  been  added,  but  this  selective  group  of  titles 
may  suffice  to  indicate  the  nature  of  the  pieces  pertaining  to  English 
language  and  literature. 

[32] 


GERMAN  LANGUAGE  AND  LITERATURE 

From  the  more  than  1,000  pamphlets  on  German  language  and 
literature  we  can  list  at  best  1.5  or  2  percent. 

ALBERT  OF  AACHEN 

Kugler,  Bernhard,  Die  Deutschen  Codices  Albert's  von  Aachen. 

685:14 

ARNIM,  LUDWIG  ACfflM  VON 

Oettl,  Raimund,  Der  zweite  Teil  der  '^Kronenwdchter.^^  Eine 
A  utorschaftsfrage .  53:5-6 

BERNGER  VON  HORHEIM 

Buchholz,  E.,  Die  Lieder  des  Minnesingers  Bernger  von  Horheim 
nach  Sprache,  Versbau,  Heimat  und  ^eit.  156:26 

BODMER,  JOHANN  JAKOB 

Verosta,  Rudolf,  Der  Phantasiebegriff  bei  den  Schweizern  Bodmer 
und  Breitinger.  601:19 

CARMINA  BURANA 

Heinrich,  Alfred,  Quatenus  Carminum  Buranorum  auctores  veterum 
Romanorum  poetas  imitati  sint.  119:15 

CESSOLIS,  JACOBUS  DE 

Diirnwirth,  R.,  Die  Fabel  von  Schillers  Ballade  ^'Die  Biirgscha/t" 
in  dem  Schachbuche  des  Jacobus  de  Cessolis.  275:5 

CHESS  BOOKS 

Holzner,  Ferdinand,  Die  deutschen  Schachbiicher  in  ihrer  dich- 
terischen  Eigenart  gegeniiber  ihrer  Quelle,  dem  lateinischen  Schach- 
buche des  Jacobus  de  Cessolis.  I.  Das  Schachbuch  Kunrats  von 
Ammenhausen.  437:23 

DAVID  VON  AUGSBURG 

Jellinegg,  Bruno,  David  von  Augsburg.  Dessen  deutsche  Schriften, 
auf  ihre  Echtheit  untersucht  und  auf  Grund  der  Handschriften 
verbessert.  508:15-16 

ECBASIS  CAPTIVI 

Voigt,  E.,  Untersuchungen  Uber  den  Ursprung  der  Ecbasis  captivi. 

35:2 

[33] 


EILHARD  VON  OBERGE 

Felix,  El  I  hart  von  Oberge  und  Heinrich  von  Veldeke.  529:7 

ERASMUS  ALBERUS 

Jensch,  O.,  ^ur  Spruchdichtung  des  Erasmus  Alberus  {Die  Praecepta 
morum).  371:13 

GAURIEL 

Seunig,  Vinzenz,  Der  Gauriel-Dichter  als  Nachahmer  Hartmanns 
von  Aue.  550:12 

GOETHE,  JOHANN  WOLFGANG  VON 

Dembowski,  Johannes,  Mitteilungen  iiber  Goethe  und  seinen 
Freundeskreis  aus  bisher  unveroffentlichten  Aufzeichnungen  des 
Graflich  Egloff stein''  schen  Familien-Archivs  zu  Arklitten.  363:8 

Schneege,  Gerhard,  Goethes  Verhdltnis  zu  Spinoza  und  seine 
philosophische  Weltanschauung.  445:6 

GRILLPARZER,  FRANZ 

Terlitza,  Victor,  Grillparzers  "Ahnfrau'^  und  die  Schicksalsidee. 

58:8 
HAUSEN,  FRIEDRICH  VON 

Neunteufel,  Franz,  ^u  Friedrichs  von  Hansen  Metrik,  Sprache 
undStil.  122:20 

HEINE,  HEINRICH 

Goldreich,  Richard,  Heines  liter arische  Beziehungen  zu  Spanien. 

428:12 

HOLDERLIN,  FRIEDRICH 

Karlowa,  Oskar,  Hblderlin  und Nietzsche-^arathustra.         445:21 

KLEIST,  HEINRICH  VON 

Hirsch,  Viktor,  Beitrdge  zu  Heinrich  von  Kleists  Novellentechnik. 

183:9 
LANGUAGES 

Burghauser,  G.,  Die  germanischen  endsilbenvokale  und  ihre 
vertretung  im  gotischen,  altwestnordischen,  angelsdchsischen  und 
althochdeutschen .  265:12 

LESSING,  GOTTHOLD  EPHRAIM 

Jacob,  Johannes,  Uber  das  Verhdltniss  der  Hamburgischen 
Dramaturgie  zur  Poetik  des  Aristo teles.  291 :1 

[34] 


MIDDLE  HIGH  GERMAN 

Rathay,  J.,  Ueber  den  Unterschied  zwischen  Lied  und  Spruch  bei  den 
Lyrikern  des  12.  und  13.  Jahrhunderts.  591:3 

MOSER,  JUSTUS 

Bayer,  Joseph,  Justus  Moseis  staatsrechtliche  und  volkswirt- 
schaftliche  Ansichten.  671:21 

RICHTER,  JOHANN  PAUL  FRIEDRICH 

Christoph,  Friedrich,  Ueber  den  Einfluss  Jean  Paul  Friedrich 
Richters  auf  Thomas  de  Quincey.  235:11 

SCHILLER,  FRIEDRICH 

Krichenbauer,  Benno,  Ueber  die  Beziehungen  ztuischen  Ethik  und 
Aesthetik  in  Schillers philosophischen  Schriften.  98:9 

SIBOTE— VROUWENZUHT 

Strauch,  Ernst,  Vergleichung  von  Sibotes  '^'Vrouwenzuhf^  mit  den 
anderen  mhd.  Darstellungen  derselben  Geschichte,  sowie  dem  Fabliau 
''de  la  male  dame"  und  dem  Mdrchen  des  Italieners  Straparola.      84 :4 

STRICKER,  DER 

Ammann,  J.  J.,  Das  Verhaltnis  von  Strickers  "Karl"  zum  Rolands- 
lied  des  PJafen  Konrad  mit  Beriicksichtigung  der  "Chanson  de 
Roland."  315:8-12,  14-16,  18,  21-22 

WILLIRAM 

Holfeld,  Die  Merkmale  des  Uebergangs  vom  Althochdeutschen  zum 
Mittelhochdeutschen  in  der  Deklination  Willirams.  209 : 1 2 

WOLFRAM  V.  ESCHENBACH 

Mielke,  Wilhelm,  Die  Charakterentwicklung  Parzivals.  187:5 


[35] 


ROMANCE  LANGUAGES  AND  LITERATURE 

Turning  to  Romance  languages  and  literatures  the  following  articles 
of  some  400  should  be  worth  particular  attention. 

ALISCANS 

Schneider,   Karl,   Die   Charakteristik  der  Personen   im   Aliscans. 

568:25-26 
BARTHfiLEMY,  RECLUS  DE  MOLLIENS 

Mayer,  A.,  Li  Miserere.  Pikardisches  Gedicht  aus  dem  XII. 
Jahrhundert  von  Reclus  de  Mollens.  Bearbeitet  und  zum  ersten  Male 
verqffentlicht.  327:3 

BERTRAN  DE  BORN 

Steinmiiller,  Georg,  Tempora  und  Modi  bei  dem  Troubadour 
Bertran  de  Born.  649:7 

BOILEAU— DESPREAUX,  NICOLAS 

Darpe,  Franz,  Boileau  et  la  satire  romaine.  484:1 

CALDERON  DE  LA  BARCA,  PEDRO 

Abert,  Johann,  Gedanken  liber  Gott,  Welt  und  Menschenleben  in  den 
''^ Autos  sacramentales'''  des  Don  Pedro  Calderon  de  la  Barca.  Mit 
erlduternden  Vorbemerkungen.  7.  Abt.  Einleitung.  Das  religiose 
Drama  und  die  ''''Autos''''  von  Calderon.  433:3 

CHANSONS  DE  GESTE 

Osterhage,  Georg,  Ueber  einige  chansons  de  geste  des  Lohengrin- 
kreises.  40:8 

CHRESTIEN  DE  TROYES 

Ellinger,  Johann,  Syntax  der  Pronomina  bei  Chrestien  de  Troies. 

593:20 

CORNEILLE,  PIERRE 

V 

Skola,  Joh.,  Corneille's  he  menteur  und  Goldonis  II  bugiardo  in 
ihrem  Verhdltnisse  zu  Alarcon's  La  verdad  sospechosa.  439:7 

DRAMA 

Galzigna,  G.  A.,  Fino  a  che  punto  i  commediografi  del  Rinascimento 
abbiano  imitato  Plauto  e  Terenzio.  113:9-10 

EUSTACHE  OF  KENT 

Bauer,  Andreas,  Die  Sprache  des  Fuerre  de  Gadres  im  Alexander- 
roman  des  Eustache  von  Kent.  178:13 

[36] 


FRENCH  LANGUAGE— GRAMMAR 

ZettI,  Josef,  Auslaiitverkennung  in  der  franzosischen   Wortbildung. 

149:7 

FRENCH  LANGUAGE— HISTORY 

Trommlitz,  Paul,  Die  franzosischen  ui-Perfecta  ausser  poi  (potui) 
bis  zum  73.  Jahrhundert  einschliesslich.  535:11 

FRENCH  LITERATURE— OLD  FRENCH 

Lusner,  Ludwig,  La  Somme  des  Vices  et  des  Vertus.  623:18 

Mettlich,  J.,  Die  Abhandlung  iiber  "Rymes  et  mettres^'  in  der 
Prosabearbeitung  der  Echecs  amoureux.  404:39 

GUI  DE  CAMBRAI 

Krause,  Arnold,  ^um  Barlaam  und  Josaphat  des  Gui  von  Cambrai. 
I.  Teil:  ^um  Text.  II.  Teil:  ^ur  Mundart  der  Dichtung.     36:22,  24 

MARIE  DE  FRANCE 

Erling,  Ludwig,  "Lj  Lais  de  Lanval,"  altjranzosisches  Gedicht  der 
Marie  de  France  nebst  Th.  Chestre^s  ^''LaunJaV  neu  herausgegeben. 

270:6 

ROMAN  DE  LA  ROSE 

Beck,  Friedrich,  Les  Epistres  sur  le  Roman  de  la  Rose  von  Christine 
de  Pizan,  Mach  3  Pariser  Hss.  bearbeitet  und  zum  ersten  Male 
verqffentlicht.  409:10 

SCARRON,  PAUL 

Janicki,  Julian,  Les  comedies  de  Paul  Scarron.  Contribution  a 
rhistoire  des  relations  litter  aires  franco-espagnoles  an  XVII  siecle. 

448:20 
WACE 

Gugel,  Emil,  Participium  des  Praesens  und  Gerundium  im  Roman 
de  Rou  des  Wace.  598:1 


HISTORY 

In  the  field  of  history  the  Programmschriften  deal  only  with  ancient 
history  and  the  modern  European  period.  There  is  a  total  of  approxi- 
mately 1200  articles  of  which  only  the  following  few  can  be  listed. 

ANASTASIUS  I 

Rose,  Gustav  Adolf,  Die  byzantinische  Kirchenpolitik  unter  Kaiser 
Anastasius  I.  647:25 

[37] 


BUSBECQ,  OGIER  GHISLAIN  DE 

Marcks,    Friedrich,   ^ur   Chronologic   von  Busbeeks  "Legationis 
Turcicae  Epistolae  IV."  469:28 

BYZANTINE  EMPIRE— fflSTORY 

Fischer,  William,  Studien  zur  hyzantinischen  Geschichte  des  17. 
Jahrhunderts.  I.  loannes  Xiphilinus,  Patriarch  von  Konstantinopel. 
11.  Die  Patriarchenwahlen  im  77.  Jhdt.  III.  Die  Entstehungszeit  des 
"Tradatus  peculiis,'^  des  "Tractatus  de  privilegiis  creditorum"  der 
''^Synopsis  legum''  des  Michael  Psellus  und  der  ^''Peira'^  und  deren 
Verjasser.  444:3 

CARLO  VINGIANS 

Platz,  F.,  Gesetzgehung  und  Verwaltung  unter  den  karolingischen 
Konigen,  nach  den  Capitularien.  436:3 

CATHOLIC  CHURCH— FOREIGN  RELATIONS 

Zorn,  Josef,  Umfang  und  Organisation  des  pdpstlichen  Eingreijens 
in  Deutschland  von  1238  bis  zum  Tode  Friedrichs  II.  24:7-9 

CHARLEMAGNE 

Ostermann,  Alfred,  Karl  der  Grosse  und  das  byzantinische  Reich. 

356:5 
DIPLOMACY— HISTORY 

Kende,  Oskar,  Ueber  Vorstiifen  der  stdndigen  Gesandtschaften  in 
einigen  deutschen  Stddten  am  Ausgange  des  Mittelalters.  462:20 

GERMANY— CONSTITUTIONAL  HISTORY 

Dentzer,  Bernhard,  Quellenstellen  zur  deutschen  Verfassungs- 
geschichte  der  Neuzeit.  517:21 

GERMANY— HISTORY 

Winkler,  Arnold,  "Kaiser  und  Reich''''  und  das  Reichskammer- 
gericht  um  1767,  zu  Beginn  der  letzten  Visitation  des  hbchsten 
deutschen  Reichsgerichtes.  625:25 

HUSSITES 

Koller,  Johann,  Worin  dusserte  sich  am  deutlichsten  das  Wesen  des 
Husitismus,  und  wie  verhielten  sich  die  Deutschstddte  Mdhrens  zu 
demselben  {bis  1438)?  426:9-10 

IDOLS  AND  IMAGES— WORSHIP 

Leist,  Die  literarische  Bewegung  des  Bilderstr cites  im  Abcndlande, 
besonders  in  der  Jrdnkischen  Kirche.  370:1 

[38] 


ISIDORUS,  SAINT,  BP.  OF  SEVILLE 

Klee,  Rudolf,  "Z)i>  Regula  Monachorum'''  Isidors  von  Sevilla  und 
ihr  Verhdltnis  zu  den  ilbrigen  abendldndischen  Monchsregeln  jener 
Zeit.  378:21 

MAXIMILIAN  I,  EMPEROR  OF  GERMANY 

Mathis,  Johann,  Kaiser  Maximilians  I.  bstliche  Politik,  haupt- 
sdchlich  in  den  Jahren  1511-1515  (Der  deutsche  Ritterorden,  Polen, 
Russland,  Ungarn).  344:9 

NEISSE— HISTORY 

Barta,  Erwin,  Die  Entstehung  des  Fiirstentums  Neisse  und  seine 
Geschichte  bis  in  die  ^eiten  Karls  IV.  240:8 

PAPACY— HISTORY 

Hagen,  Theodor,  Die  Papstwahlen  von  1484  und  1492.  89:9 

ROME— HISTORY 

Herrmann,  August,  Darstellung  der  politischen  Beziehungen  des 
romischen  Kaiserreiches  zu  den  Parthern  und  Germanen  wdhrend  der 
Regierung  Marc  AureVs.  509:14 

SPAIN— HISTORY 

Contzen,  Leopold,  Die  Historiographie  der  Conquista,  vornehmlich 
im  16.  und  17.  Jahrhundert.  I.  Cieza  de  Leon  und  Inca  Garcilaso  de 
la  Vega.  161:6 

STEPHANUS  BYZANTINUS 

Stemplinger,  Eduard,  Studien  zu  den  Ethnika  des  Stephanos  von 
Byzanz.  398:10 

STUDENTS 

Spiegel,  Nic.,  Gelehrtenproletariat  und  Gaunertum  vom  Beginn  des 
XIV.  bis  zur  Mitte  des  XVI.  Jahrhunderts.  Mit  2  Beilagen:  1.  Das 
Alter  des  Basler  Ratsmandates  gegen  die  Gilen  and  Lamen,  sowie  des 
liber  vagatorum.  2.  Der   Text  des  ''Bedeler  or  dens'  von  Gengenbach. 

518:12 
TRIESTE— HISTORY 

Grandi,  Luigi,  Relazioni  di  Trieste  con  la  Repubblica  di  Venezia, 
la  casa  d'Absburgo  ed  il  Patriarcato  d'Aquileia  1368-1382.  553:3 

VIENNA— SIEGE,  1683 

Renner,  Victor  von,  Tiirkische  Urkunden,  den  Krieg  des  Jahres 
1683  betrejfend,  nach  den  Aufzeichungen  des  Marc""  Antonio  Mamucha 
della  Torre.  591:15 

[39] 


HUMANISM  AND  REFORMATION 

As  a  subdivision  of  history  let  us  now  consider  some  of  the  pieces 
pertaining  to  Humanism  and  Reformation. 

CELTES,  CONRADUS 

Matz,  Martin,  Konrad  Celtis  und  die  rheinische  Gelehrtengesell- 
schaft,  Beitrag  zur  Geschichte  des  Humanismus  in  Deutschland.   359 :4 

MELANCHTHON,  PHILIPP 

Wrampelmeyer,  H.,  Ungedruckte  Schriften  Philipp  Melanchthons. 
^um  ersten  Male  herausgegeben  aus  der  Berliner  Handschrijt  des 
Sebastian  Redlich  aus  Bernau  (Codex  Manusc.  Theol.Lat.  Berolinensis 
Nr.  97),  I.  und  II.  Teil.  121 :50,  52 

TRITHEMIUS,  JOHANNES 

Hermes,  Johann  Joseph,  Ueber  das  Leben  und  die  Schriften  des 
Johannes  von  Trittenheim,  genannt  Trithemius.  469:4 


PHILOSOPHY 

Approximately  400  items  of  the  collection  deal  with  various  philo- 
sophical subjects.  Most  of  these  are  in  the  ancient  period  but  some  deal 
with  European  philosophy  in  the  period  1600-1850. 

ANSELM,  SAINT 

Moriggl,  Simon,  Monologium  des  Heil.  Anselm  von  Kanterbury. 
Eine  philosophische  Abhandlung.  249:5 

ARISTOTELES 

Gans,  M.  E.,  Psychologische  Untersuchung  zu  der  von  Aristoteles  als 
platonisch  ilberlieferten  Lehre  von  den  Idealzahlen  aus  dem  Gesichts- 
punkte  der  platonischen  Dialektik  und  Asthetik.  630 :4 

Wetzel,  Martin,  Die  Lehre  des  Aristoteles  von  der  distributiven 
Gerechtigkeit  und  die  Scholastik.  571:3 

AUGUSTINUS,  AURELIUS,  SAINT 

Kauff,  H.,  Die  Erkenntnislehre  des  hi.  Augustinus  und  ihr  Ver- 
hdltnis  zu  der  platonischen  Philosophie.  402:16 

[40] 


BACON,  FRANCIS 

Henrici,  J.,  Einfiihrung  in  die  induklive  Logik  an  Bacons  Beispiel 
nach  Stuart  Mills  Regeln.  226:19 

CICERO,  MARCUS  TULLIUS 

Behncke,  Gustav,  De  Cicerone  Epicureorum  philosophiae  existima- 
tore  etjudice.  ?nA 

DESCARTES,  REN£ 

Seibt,   Anton,    Urteilstheorie  und  Irrthumsproblem   bei  Descartes. 

601:12 

GNOSTICISM 

Steiner,  Johann,   Die  wahre  und  falsche  Gnosis  mit   besonderer 
Beriicksichtigung  des  Valentinianischen  Systems.  265:21 

HEGEL,  GEORG  WILHELM 

Stuhrmann,  Johannes,  Die   Wurzeln  der  Hegelschen  Logik  bei 
Kant.  415:32 

HUME,  DAVID 

Scharnagl,   P.   Theobald,  Der  physico-teleologische  Gottesbeweis 
in  D.  Humes  '^Dialogues  concerning  natural  religion.'^  438:6-7 

KANT,  IMANUEL 

SelHer,  Waher,  Die  Kantische  Ethik  in  ihren  Beziehungen  zum 
Utilitarismus  und  zur  theologischen  Utilitdtsmoral.  110:43 

Stieglitz,   Theodor,   ^ur  Lehre  vom   transzendentalen  Idealismus 
I.  Kants  und  A.  Schopenhauer s.  13:7 

LOCKE,  JOHN 

Winkler,   Karl,   Lockes  Erkenntnistheorie  verglichen  mit  der  des 
Aristoteles.  563:20 

MALEBRANCHE,  NICOLAS 

Paul,  Der  Ontologismus  des  Malebranche.  413:23 

NICOLAUS  CUSANUS 

Griining,  G.,    Wesen  und  Aufgabe  des  Erkennens  nach  Nicolaus 
Cusanus.  471:12 

[41] 


SCHOPENHAUER,  ARTHUR 

Stieglitz,  Theodor,  Platons  Ideen  in  der  Metaphysik  A.  Schopen- 
hauer s.  451:6 

THOMAS  AQUINAS,  SAINT 

Zimmermann,  Josef,  Ueber  die  Schrift  des  hi.  Thomas  von  Aquino 
"Z)^  substantiis  separatis"  mit  Riicksicht  auf  seine  Auffassung  der 
Geschichte  der  Philosophie.  665:4 

Aside  from  these  major  groups  there  are  some  600  pieces  of  diverse 
topics  on  Bible  studies,  Art  and  Music,  Indo-European  languages, 
Slavic  languages,  and  other  miscellaneous  items. 

My  most  heartfelt  appreciation  goes  to  Rudolf  Hirsch  for  his  untiring 
help  and  invaluable  advice.  Without  his  aid  the  difficult  task  of  indexing 
could  not  have  been  finished.  Mr.  Charles  Hutchings,  now  of  Rutgers 
University,  deserves  recognition  for  the  work  he  did  on  the  collection 
after  it  was  acquired  by  the  University  Library. 


[42] 


THE   MATTHEW  ARNOLD   EXHIBIT 

Matthew  Arnold  at  the  University 

Neda  Westlake 

"What  a  good  fellow — frank  and  easy  in  manner — strong  fine  figure, 
strong  face."  In  his  hurried  diary  notes  for  June  12,  1886,  Dr.  William 
Pepper,  Provost  of  the  University,  thus  described  the  honored  guest  who 
four  days  before  had  delivered  an  address,  "Common  Schools  Abroad," 
in  the  College  Chapel. 

From  Dr.  Pepper's  notes^  and  letters  of  Arnold,  a  vivid  picture  of  that 
occasion  emerges.  It  was  a  hot  June  day,  and  with  some  600  people 
crowded  into  the  chapel  (now  the  Geology  Department  in  College 
Hall),  Dr. Pepper  was  indignant  at  the  physical  discomfort  of  the  badly 
ventilated  room,  but  continued  with  a  description  of  the  occasion. 
"Arnold  held  his  manuscript  in  his  left  hand  and  read  from  it.  .  .  . 
I  sat  just  behind  him  on  the  little  platform  and  called  'louder'  at  short 
intervals.  .  .  .  What  he  said  about  the  more  humanizing  effect  of 
foreign  [continental  as  opposed  to  English  or  American]  education  on 
children  especially  interesting.  He  said  he  often  found  this  note  in  his 
report  of  visits  to  schools  in  Europe:  'the  children  human.'  Thus  able 
to  appreciate  the  spirit,  the  quality,  the  humanities  of  poetry  and  of 
literary  work.  Bad  enunciation.  Terrible  pronunciation  of  some  words — 
'girls,  geeerls' !  Talked  of  primary  schools  on  the  continent  and  con- 
trasted them  favorably  with  those  in  England.  'Education  is  that  in 
which  all  human  beings  are  taught  all  things  human' — something  more 
than  mere  useful  knowledge.  Closed  by  saying  that  no  University  could 
more  fittingly  do  this  than  the  University  of  Franklin." 

The  difficulty  that  many  English  men  of  letters  encountered  in  mak- 
ing themselves  understood  in  American  lecture  halls  is  the  subject  of  a 
note^  from  Arnold  to  his  sister  from  Boston  on  his  first  visit  to  America 
in  1883.  "It  is  unnatural  for  me  to  speak  so  slowly  and  elaborately  as  in 
these  great  buildings;  and  to  people  unfamiliar  with  the  English  intona- 
tion, I  am  obliged  to  do  so  in  order  to  be  heard;  but  I  can  do  it,  and 
am  now  doing  it  quite  easily.  .  .  ." 

Matthew  Arnold  had  had  a  successful  lecture  tour  in  America  in 
1883,  and  in  1886  had  returned  to  visit  his  eldest  daughter,  Mrs. 
Frederick  W.  Whitridge,  in  New  York.  Some  of  Arnold's  most  devoted 

1  This  and  following  notes  from  Dr.  Pepper's  diary  are  quoted  from  the  William 
Pepper  Papers,  University  of  Pennsylvania  Library. 

2  Letters  of  Matthew  Arnold,  collected  by  George  W.  E.  Russell,  New  York,  1896. 
The  following  extracts  from  Arnold's  correspondence  are  from  the  same  source. 

[43] 


friends  in  America  were  Philadelphians,  and  this  invitation  to  speak  at 
the  University  afforded  an  opportunity  to  renew  those  acquaintances. 

Whatever  the  difficulty  of  communication  in  pubhc  lectures,  it  is 
evident  that  Arnold  and  his  hosts  had  a  thoroughly  enjoyable  time. 
Dr.  Pepper  reports  a  dinner  and  a  breakfast,  with  S.  Weir  Mitchell, 
E.  H.  Coates,  General  S.  Wylie  Crawford,  and  two  of  Arnold's  close 
friends,  Ellis  Yarnall  and  Attorney  General  Wayne  MacVeagh,  among 
the  guests.  They  were  pleased  with  Arnold's  reaction  to  Philadelphia; 
Dr.  Pepper  quoted  him  as  saying  that  he  liked  Boston  and  Philadelphia 
so  much  better  than  New  York,  and  that  Chestnut  Street  was  the  most 
attractive  street  in  America.  In  a  letter  to  his  sister,  from  Germantown 
on  June  9,  1886,  Arnold  wrote  that  "...  A  group  of  men  I  met  yester- 
day were  the  first  men  I  have  seen  in  this  country  who  were  serious  and 
cultivated  enough  to  understand  the  Irish  question  [the  bill  for  Home 
Rule  for  Ireland,  defeated  on  the  7th  of  June].  The  President  of  the 
Pennsylvania  University  [Dr.  Pepper]  had  got  up  at  some  unheard-of 
hour  in  the  morning  to  get  the  newspaper  as  soon  as  it  was  published, 
so  anxious  was  he  (on  the  right  side)  about  the  division.  .  .  .  On 
Friday  I  breakfast  at  the  University  and  we  go  on  to  Washington  in  the 
afternoon.  .  .  .  We  drove  out  to  M'Veagh's  to  dinner  after  my  lecture 
at  the  University  (quite  a  success)  yesterday;  it  might  have  been 
England,  the  country  was  so  green,  so  fenced  and  so  cultivated.  .  .  ." 

From  other  accounts  as  well  as  the  speaker's,  the  lecture  had  indeed 
been  "quite  a  success."  It  was  fully  reported  in  The  Pennsylvanian,  and 
published  in  the  Century  Magazine  the  following  October. 

The  33-page  manuscript,  in  Arnold's  close,  clear  script,  given  to  the 
University  in  1907  by  Mr.  J.  G.  Rosengarten,  was  the  focal  point  of  an 
exhibition  in  November  for  the  Friends  of  the  Library.  Mr.  Seymour 
Adelman  generously  contributed  the  major  part  of  the  exhibit — first 
editions,  inscription  copies,  and  letters  of  Arnold  and  his  friends.  The 
honored  guest  and  speaker  for  the  opening  of  the  exhibition  was  Dr. 
Arnold  Whitridge,  the  grandson  of  the  poet.  Dr.  Whitridge,  who  has 
held  professorships  at  Yale,  the  Universities  of  Athens  and  Bordeaux, 
and  is  the  author  of  books  on  literary  criticism  and  several  biographies, 
particularly  Dr.  Arnold  of  Rugby,  delighted  his  audience  with  his  remarks 
on  his  grandfather.  Dr.  Whitridge's  manuscript,  to  be  treasured  in  the 
Rare  Book  Collection  along  with  Matthew  Arnold's  "Common  Schools 
Abroad,"  is  printed  on  the  following  pages. 


[44] 


The  Gaiety  of  Matthew  Arnold 

Arnold  Whitridge 

THIS  is  such  a  pleasant  occasion  and  such  an  interesting  one 
to  me  personally,  as  I  am  sure  it  is  to  you  also,  that  I  am  not 
going  to  spoil  it  by  delivering  a  formal  lecture.  What  I  really 
want  to  do  is  to  congratulate  your  Librarian,  Dr.  Setton,  Mr. 
Mills  and  the  Friends  of  the  Library  on  this  exhibition,  and  at  the 
same  time  to  supplement  the  exhibition  by  calling  your  attention 
to  an  aspect  of  Matthew  Arnold  which  scholars  and  posterity  in 
general  have  been  inclined  to  overlook.  I  want  to  talk  to  you  for 
a  few  minutes  about  the  gaiety  of  Matthew  Arnold  the  man,  as 
opposed  to  the  sombre  austerity  of  Matthew  Arnold  the  poet. 
Not  that  his  poetry  is  always  austere  by  any  means,  but  that  is 
certainly  the  prevailing  impression. 

Ask  any  graduate  student  of  English  literature  what  are  the 
distinguishing  characteristics  of  Matthew  Arnold,  and  he  will 
probably  hold  forth  about  Arnold's  dissatisfaction  with  his  own 
age,  his  regret  for  the  past,  for  the  days 

.  .  .  when  wits  were  fresh  and  clear, 
And  life  ran  gaily  as  the  sparkling  Thames; 
Before  this  strange  disease  of  modern  life, 
With  its  sick  hurry,  its  divided  aims. 
Its  heads  o'ertaxed,  its  palsied  hearts,  was  rife — 

If  he  is  articulate,  as  I  am  sure  the  graduate  students  of  this  uni- 
versity are,  he  will  go  on  to  talk  of  the  poet's  nostalgic  intimations 
of  some  state  of  spiritual  well-being  which,  because  he  was  a  child 
of  the  nineteenth  century,  still  floated  just  beyond  his  reach. 
Arnold's  constant  emphasis  on  conduct — you  remember  the 
phrase,  "conduct  is  three  fourths  of  life" — his  insistence  on  "high 
seriousness"  in  poetry,  has  blinded  us  to  certain  less  lofty,  but 
perhaps  more  humane,  aspects  of  his  character. 

The  fact  is  that  he  was  always  at  war  with  himself — the  artist 
with  the  moralist,  the  Greek  poet  with  the  Hebrew  prophet,  the 
lover  of  Byron  and  passion  and  the  beauty  of  the  South  with  the 
disciple  of  Wordsworth  and  the  stern  austerity  of  the  North. 

[45] 


This  conflict  can  be  seen  too  in  his  theory  and  practice  of  poetry. 
It  has  always  seemed  to  me  one  of  the  paradoxes  of  Enghsh 
literature  that  while  Arnold  insisted  that  all  art  should  be  dedi- 
cated to  joy  his  own  poetry  is  anything  but  joyful.  He  himself  was 
so  aware  of  this  defect  in  his  poetry,  as  it  seemed  to  him,  that  he 
suppressed  one  of  his  greatest  poems,  "Empedocles  on  Etna,"  and 
only  restored  it  to  publication  on  the  insistence  of  Robert  Brown- 
ing. Browning  did  not  quarrel  with  Arnold's  theory  of  poetry  ex- 
cept in  so  far  as  it  affected  "Empedocles  on  Etna."  Critical 
theories  were  all  very  well,  but  they  must  not  be  allowed  to  get  in 
the  way  of  good  poetry. 

There  is  no  question  that  the  classroom  estimate  of  Arnold  is 
true.  He  admits  it  himself  over  and  over  again,  among  other 
places  in  the  "Stanzas  from  the  Grande  Chartreuse"  where  he 
tells  us 

.  .  .  rigorous  teachers  seized  my  youth, 
And  purged  its  faith,  and  trimm'd  its  fire, 
Show'd  me  the  high  white  star  of  Truth, 
There  bade  me  gaze,  and  there  aspire. 

My  point  is  that  though  this  is  the  truth  it  is  not  the  whole  truth. 
Side-by-side  with  the  austere  poet,  the  stern  critic  of  society,  and 
the  harassed  school  inspector,  there  was  another  very  different 
Matthew  Arnold,  a  "wordling"  as  one  of  his  contemporaries 
called  him,  who  loved  good  talk  and  good  wine,  an  evening  with 
Sainte-Beuve  at  a  good  Paris  restaurant,  a  game  of  racquets  at 
the  club,  or  a  day's  fishing  with  his  son.  Strange  as  it  may  seem 
to  us  as  we  read  his  poetry,  the  trouble  with  Matthew  Arnold 
from  his  friends'  point  of  view  was  that  he  was  not  serious  enough. 
At  Oxford  he  was  everything  of  which  his  father  would  have  dis- 
approved— jaunty,  indolent,  and  debonair.  His  banter — the 
twentieth  century  would  have  called  it  "kidding" — was  notorious. 
Listen  to  what  his  friend  Hawker  has  to  say  about  him.  "We  ar- 
rived here  on  Friday  evening,"  wrote  Hawker  during  a  trip  with 
young  Matthew  in  1843,  "after  sundry  displays  of  the  most  con- 
summate coolness  on  the  part  of  our  friend  Matt,  who  pleasantly 
induced  a  belief  into  the  passengers  of  the  coach  that  I  was  a  poor 
mad  gentleman,  and  that  he  was  my  keeper." 

[46] 


That  was  very  characteristic  of  Matthew  Arnold  as  an  under- 
graduate. His  friend  Clough  worried  about  his  unwilHngness  to 
devote  himself  to  his  studies.  "Matthew  has  gone  out  fishing 
when  he  ought  properly  to  be  working,"  wrote  Clough  in  the 
summer  of  1844  when  they  were  both  on  a  reading  party  which 
Arnold  was  doing  his  best  to  ignore  or  disrupt.  A  trip  to  Paris  in 
1 846,  to  follow  the  actress  Rachel  through  her  Paris  season,  only 
exaggerated  his  gaiety  and  his  flamboyance.  He  came  back 
spouting  Beranger's  poetry,  but  that  was  not  what  the  University 
authorities  wanted.  "Matt  has  returned  full  of  Paris,"  complains 
Clough  again — "theatres  in  general,  and  Rachel  in  special.  He 
breakfasts  at  12,  and  never  dines  in  Hall,  and  in  the  last  week  or 
8  days  rather  (for  two  Sundays  must  be  included)  he  has  been  to 
chapel  only  once." 

Now  all  this,  you  may  say,  is  nothing  but  a  reaction  against  the 
stern  training  of  his  father,  and  that  as  he  grew  older  the  exuber- 
ance of  youth  disappeared  and  he  lost  the  capacity  to  surrender 
himself  to  the  gayer  side  of  life.  Certainly  he  changed,  as  all  of  us 
do,  but  though  the  gaiety  assumed  a  different  form  it  was  still 
there. 

Is  it  so  small  a  thing 

To  have  enjoyed  the  sun, 

To  have  lived  light  in  the  spring, 

To  have  loved,  to  have  thought,  to  have  done; 

To  have  advanced  true  friends,  and  beat  down  baffling  foes  .  .  . 

You  can  not  call  that  the  poetry  of  a  pessimist,  or  of  a  man  who 
shut  the  door  on  life.  I  would  say  that  during  the  thirty  years  that 
elapsed  between  the  writing  of  those  lines  and  the  delivery  of  his 
lecture  here  in  Philadelphia  Arnold  lost  something  of  his  zest  for 
poetry.  Possibly  the  business  of  earning  his  living  and  providing 
for  a  large  family — unlike  Browning  he  was  not  a  rich  man — and 
the  very  prosaic  life  of  a  school  inspector,  crowded  out,  or  at  least 
stunted,  the  more  artistic  side  of  his  nature.  But  fortunately  there 
were  compensations.  I  can  think  of  no  poet  of  his  generation  to 
whom  children  and  home  meant  as  much  as  they  did  to  Matthew 
Arnold.  The  expeditions,  the  games,  the  jokes,  the  love  of  animals 

[47] 


— all  the  small  coin  of  intimate  family  life — played  a  great  part 
in  the  happy  serenity  of  his  nature. 

If  I  may  be  personal  for  a  moment,  it  might  interest  you  to 
know  that  my  mother,  Matthew  Arnold's  older  daughter,  never 
talked  to  me  much  about  his  poetry.  She  read  me  "The  Forsaken 
Merman,"  and  when  I  went  to  school  she  gave  me  the  "Essays  in 
Criticism,"  but  she  never  talked  about  him  as  a  literary  man.  She 
left  me  to  discover  him  for  myself.  Perhaps  that  was  wise.  She 
could  never  think  of  him  except  as  a  most  loving,  affectionate, 
and  understanding  father. 

The  other  aspect  I  remember  hearing  a  great  deal  about  as  a 
child  was  his  intense  love  of  the  outdoors  and  particularly  of 
flowers.  This  is  of  course  immediately  apparent  in  "Thyrsis," 
"The  Scholar  Gipsy"  and  in  the  Switzerland  poems.  You  will  see 
it  also  if  you  read  the  Letters,  especially  those  written  from 
America  at  the  end  of  his  life.  At  that  time  his  health  was  already 
bothering  him — he  died  shortly  after  his  return  to  England — and 
that  meant  he  could  not  walk  about  as  much  as  he  would  have 
liked,  but  he  got  the  greatest  pleasure  out  of  the  wild  flowers  and 
the  trees,  the  view  from  his  window,  and  the  look  of  the  country- 
side, which  reminded  him  of  England  and  yet  was  so  different. 

Here  in  Philadelphia,  for  instance,  he  was  carried  away  by  the 
beauties  of  the  park,  "one  of  the  finest  in  the  world,  3000  acres  of 
beautiful  undulating  country  with  a  fine  river.  ...  It  is  worth 
crossing  the  Atlantic  to  see  the  'kalmia'  and  magnolia  growing 
wild  everywhere  in  the  woods."  He  notes  also  the  lady  slippers, 
Indian  pipe,  milkweed,  and  thalictrum.  "But,"  he  says,  in  writing 
to  his  sister,  "I  must  not  go  on  about  flowers  or  my  letter  will 
contain  nothing  else."  There  is  a  nice  touch  in  another  letter 
where  he  persuades  Andrew  Carnegie,  much  against  his  will,  to 
stop  the  carriage  so  that  he  can  get  out  and  examine  the  rhodo- 
dendron. 

In  all  these  comments  I  am  reminded  of  what  he  says  about 
Wordsworth's  poetry.  "It  is  great  because  of  the  extraordinary 
power  with  which  Wordsworth  feels  the  joy  offered  us  in  nature, 
the  joy  offered  us  in  the  simple  primary  affections  and  duties." 

I  can't  possibly  improve  on  Matthew  Arnold's  language  so  I 
will  leave  it  at  that.  When  you  re-read  him,  as  I  hope  you  do 

[48] 


occasionally,  I  should  like  you  to  think  of  him  not  only  as  an 
elegiac  poet 

Wandering  between  two  worlds,  one  dead, 
The  other  powerless  to  be  born  .  ,  . 

not  only  as  the  critic  of  the  British  Philistine,  and  of  the  dangerous 
tendency  in  America  to  confuse  mediocrity  with  excellence,  but 
as  one  who  impressed  everyone  who  came  in  contact  with  him 
with  the  gay  serenity  of  his  spirit.  "I  don't  care  what  you  think 
of  his  poetry,"  my  mother  once  said  to  me.  "Papa  was  never 
gloomy.  He  made  life  fun  for  everybody."  That  seems  to  me  a 
very  enviable  memory,  and  I  am  grateful  to  the  Friends  of  the 
Library  for  giving  me  this  opportunity  to  pass  it  on  to  you. 


[49] 


Library  Notes 


A  Note  from  the  editor 

For  the  past  several  years  Rudolf  Hirsch  has  served  as  editor  of  the 
Library  Chronicle.  The  pressure  of  other  duties  has  forced  him  to  withdraw 
from  this  capacity.  The  issues  of  the  Chronicle  under  his  guidance  demon- 
strate a  consistent  excellence— a  record  that  will  be  exceedingly  difficult 
to  maintain.  Mr.  Hirsch  has  graciously  offered  to  help  me  in  any  prob- 
lems relating  to  the  Chronicle  and  Miss  Elizabeth  Borden  and  Miss  M. 
Elizabeth  Shinn  have  kindly  consented  to  continue  in  their  capacities 
as  editorial  assistants.  In  essence,  then,  the  team  remains  the  same  for 
with  Rudolf  Hirsch  hovering  in  the  background  we  hope  that  the 
Chronicle  will  continue  to  inform,  instruct,  and  entertain  as  it  has  so 
notably  done  in  the  past. 

Merrill  G.  Berthrong 

Various  Gifts 

Adelman,  Seymour-Two  colored  engravings,  \ly2  x  12",  "A  view  of 
the  stock  market,"  and  "A  view  of  the  fountain  in  the  Temple,"  by 
Fletcher,  London,  1753,  to  be  added  to  the  Teerink  collection  of 
Jonathan  Swift. 

Bally,  Raymond  E. -Miscellaneous  collection;  25  vols. 

Benoliel,  Mrs.  D.  jACQyES-(Dickens,  Charles)  Great  International 
Walking  Match  of  February  29,  1868.  One  large  broadside  in  leather 
case.  Contains  signatures  of  George  Dolby,  James  R.  Osgood,  James  T. 
Fields,  and  Charles  Dickens. 

BuTTERWORTH,  Charles  C,  Estate  of-Material  on  the  history  of  the 
English  Bible,  16th  Century  English  history  and  printing;  editions  of 
classics  and  rare  editions  of  the  Bible.  368  vols. 

CoMEGYS,  Amy,  Estate  of-Miss  Comegys  has  been  a  generous  donor 
over  a  period  of  years.  Her  death  this  spring  resulted  in  the  final  dis- 
position of  20  books. 

Favs^cett,  Dr.  Charles  D.-22  bound  volumes  of  various  titles. 

Henley,  James-38  sheets  of  unpublished  material  from  Farrell's 
Judgment  Day. 

Hyde,  Dr.  Walter  W.-Ormerod,  George.  History  of  the  County 
Palatine  and  City  of  Chester,  compiled  from  original  evidence  in  public 
offices,  the  Harleian  and  Cottonian  MSS,  parochial  registers  .  .  .  2nd. 
ed.  rev.  by  T.  Helsby.  Routledge,  1882.  3  vols. 

[50] 


LiNEBARGER,  Prof.  Paul  M.  A.-39  volumcs  of  Brazilian  diplomatic 
archives,  being  a  series  of  reports  by  the  Brazilian  Foreign  Minister  to 
the  Brazilian  legislature. 

Meyer,  Mrs.  Fred  H. -Miscellaneous  material  in  German;  literature 
and  American  authors  in  German  translation.  104  vols. 

Murphy,  Mrs.  Miles- Volumes  on  psychology  from  Dr.  Murphy's 
office,  containing  presentation  copies  of  two  works  by  the  psychologist, 
Alexander  Bain.  25  vols. 

Paschkis,  MARGARET-Miscellaneous  German  literature.  22  vols. 

Pennsylvania  University,  Veterinary  School,  Class  of  1955- 
Titles  selected  by  Veterinary  Library  and  purchased  for  the  Library. 

Rowley,  George,  Prof.-Newbold,  W.  R.,  Dr.  "Literary  remains." 
Class  of  1887.  Ph.D.  1891.  Material  on  spiritualism  and  various  slides 
and  material  on  Bacon.  Heinrici,  Georg.  Die  Valentiniansch  Gnosis 
und  die  Heilige  Schrift.  Voynich  mss.  photostats  and  slides  taken  by 
RBC.  Autograph  letters  of  Conan  Doyle,  William  James  and  spiritualist 
material  given  to  Archives. 

ScHOELKOPF,  Robert  J.,  JR.-History  of  Pope  Alexander  III  and 
Emperor  Frederick  Barbarossa. 

Vare,  Edw^in  H.,  JR.-Volumes  III  and  IV  of  original  elephant  folio- 
size  aquatints  of  Audubon's  "Birds  of  America."  These  will  join  Vol- 
umes V  and  VI  which  Mr.  Vare  gave  to  the  Library  in  1957. 

Ward,  Philip  H.,  Jr. -Collection  of  U.  S.  coins  in  denominations 
from  y^  cent  to  20  cents. 

We  gratefully  acknowledge  gifts  from  W.  B.  Saunders  &  Company, 
Illman-Carter  Library,  University  Museum  and  the  Wistar  Institute 
Library.  The  following  individuals  were  donors:  Chester  E.  Tucker, 
Henry  M.  Pemberton  and  from  the  faculty  the  Drs.  Bodde,  BoUes, 
Briner,  Eiseley,  Klarmann,  Laurie,  Martin,  Matthews,  Miller,  Moenke- 
meyer,  Odlozilik,  Smith,  Wells,  and  Whitaker. 

J.M.G. 


[51] 


Important  Purchases  1957-1958 

Library  of  Dr.  Joseph  E.  Gillet,  late  professor  of  Romance  languages, 
Spanish  literature,  and  Philology — approximately  2500  volumes. 

American  bureau  of  industrial  research.  A  documentary  of  American  in- 
dustrial society.  Russell  &  Russell,  1958. 

Ancient  history  of  China  (in  Japanese) . 

Barbosa  Machado,  Diogo.  Biblioteca  Lusitana,  2nd.  ed.  4  vols. 

The  Beaver,  magazine  of  the  North.  (Out  of  print  issues  added  to  the 
Museum's  holdings.) 

Bianchi,   Paolo   Federico.   Raccolta  (Tornati  (Tarchitettura  .  .  .  Paris, 
ca.  1760. 

Blondel,  Jacques  Francois.  Architecture francaise.  Paris,  Jambert,  1752— 
1756.  4  vols. 

Boyle,  Robert.  Curiosities  of  chymistry.  London,  1691. 

Burton,  Robert.  Anatomy  of  melancholy.  Oxford,  1 624. 

Chambers,   William.   Designs  of  Chinese   buildings,  furniture,   dresses. 
London,  1757. 

Czechoslovakia,   laws,   statutes,   etc.   Skirba  zakonu  a  narizeni  statu 
ceskoslovensko,  1918-1952.  38  vols. 

Finnisch — Ugrische  forschungen.  32  vols. 

Goethe,  Johann  Wolfgang  von,  Sdmtliche  werke  (Propylaen  ausgabe). 
1909-1931. 

Harada,  Ritamura  et  al.  Color  atlas  of  skin  disease.  2  vols.  1956. 

Hoefer,  Jean  Chretien  Ferdinand.  Nouvelle  biographic  generate.  Paris, 
1857-1866.  46  vols. 

Holstenius,  Lucas.  Codex  regularum  monasticarum  et  canonicarum.  2nd.  ed, 
Graz,  1956.  6  vols,  in  3. 

Homerus.  Odissea  .   .   .  per  Raphaelum  Volaterrum  in  Latinum  conversa. 
Rome,  1510. 

Intermediare  des  chercheurs  et  curieux.  1864-1940.  Complete  collection, 

KrafTt,  Johann  Carl.  Plans  des  plus  beaux  jardins  pittoresques  de  France. 
Paris,  1810.  2  vols. 

[52] 


Milton,  John.  Paradise  lost.  1st.  ed.  London,  S.  Simmons,  1668. 

Offner,  Richard.  A  critical  and  historical  corpus  of  Florentine  painting. 
8  vols,  rec'd. 

Pozzo,  Andrea.  Perspectiva  pictorum  et  architectorum.  Rome,  1693-1700. 
2  vols. 

Prussia.  Archivverwalthung.  Mitteilungen  .  .   .  Publikationen  .  .  . 

Revue  de  Medecine  veterinaire.  Vols.  79-88,  93-97. 

Revue  Hispanique.  (Certain  vols,  missing  in  our  set.) 

Royal  Asiatic  Society.  Malayan  branch.  Journal.  18  scattered  vols. 

Sanuto,  Marino.  I  diari.  Venice,  Visentini,  1879-1903.  59  vols. 

Sebastian.  Het  eerste-vijjde,  boeck  van  de  architecturen  .  .  .  Amsterdam, 
1616. 

Stimmen  aus  Maria-Laach.  1871-1940.  Vols.  1-137. 

Times  (London).  Palmer's  index.  Scattered  issues  of  18th,  19th  and 
20th  centuries. 

Vecellio,  Cesare.  Habiti  antichi  et  moderni  di  tutto  it  mondo.  Venice, 
Sessa,  1598. 

Vitruvius,  Pollio  Marcus.  Les  dix  livres  d* architecture.  2nd.  ed.  Paris, 
Coignard,  1684. 

J.  M.  G. 

Continental  European  Books 

The  following  is  a  representative  list  of  purchases  made  during  recent 
months: 

Spanish  versions  of  Seneca  (Antwerp,  1551)  and  Josephus  (Madrid, 
1629);  a  French  translation  of  Thucydides,  Geneva,  1600;  Italian 
translations  of  Caesar  (Venice,  1517  and  1558)  and  Seneca  (Venice, 
1560). 

A  Panegyricus  for  Emperor  Charles  V  by  Giovanni  Crisostomo  Zanchi, 
published  at  Rome  in  1536.  A  blank  leaf  at  the  end  contains  a  manu- 
script Latin  poem  of  eight  lines  by  Basilio  Zanchi  addressed  to  the 
author,  his  brother.  Basilio  has  also  made  manuscript  corrections 
throughout  the  text. 

[53] 


The  first  printed  edition  of  the  poem  Henrici  Quarti  Ro.  Imperatoris 
bellum  contra  Saxones  heroico  carmine  descriptum,  pubhshed  at  Strassburg  in 
1508.  The  authorship  has  never  been  established;  it  has  been  attributed 
both  to  the  eleventh  and  the  sixteenth  centuries.  This  edition  also  con- 
tains verses  by  Baptista  Mantuanus  and  a  letter  of  Beatus  Rhenanus. 

Historische  Beschreibung,  dated  1568,  a  German  translation  of  Hubert 
Languet's  eyewitness  account  of  the  siege  of  Gotha  in  1567,  which 
marked  the  downfall  of  Duke  Johann  Friedrich  II  of  Saxony  and 
Wilhelm  von  Grumbach. 

Three  works  on  the  art  of  letter- writing:  Francesco  Sansovino, 
Del  Secretario,  overi  formulario  di  lettere  missivi  et  responsivi,  Venice,  1573; 
the  first  edition  of  Torquato  Tasso's  //  Secretario,  Ferrara,  G.  Cesare, 
1587;  the  Ars  Tulliano  more  epistolandi  of  Jacobus  Publicius,  Paris,  A. 
Caillaut,  ca.  1493.  A  treatise  on  writing  poetry  is  M.  A.  Sabellico's  De 
rerum  et  artium  inventoribus  poema,  Paris,  about  1510. 

Among  other  incunabula,  Johannes  Trithemius,  De  operatione  divini 
amoris,  Mainz,  1497(?),  and  an  edition  of  Albius  Tibullus'  works,  con- 
taining also  the  works  of  Propertius,  with  commentaries  on  both,  Venice, 
1500.  The  Tibullus  has  many  manuscript  variant  readings  and,  also  in 
manuscript,  much  of  Antonio  Volsco's  commentary  on  Propertius. 

Germaniae  exegeseos  volumina  duodecim,  Haguenau,  1518,  a  history  of 
Germany  by  Franciscus  Irenicus,  including  a  description  of  Nuremberg 
by  Conrad  Celtis. 

A  form  for  marriage  dispensations  (for  consanguinity),  issued  at 
Rome  about  1510  to  raise  money  for  the  building  of  St.  Peter's  at  Rome. 
The  entire  text  is  engraved  on  a  vellum  sheet. 

Two  Ramon  Lull  items:  a  Lyons,  1517,  edition  of  his  Ars  magna 
generalis  et  ultima  and  a  rare  anonymous  pamphlet  of  eight  leaves 
printed  in  Germany  early  in  the  sixteenth  century,  called  Speculum  et 
alphabeticum  sacerdotum.  It  contains  a  section  called  "Raimundi  Lulli  .  .  . 
contemplationes,"  actually  selections  from  his  De  Amico  et  Amato. 

An  edition  of  the  Career  damore  by  Diego  de  San  Pedro,  translated  into 
Italian  by  Lelio  de  Manfredi,  printed  on  vellum  at  Venice  about  1514. 

Three  small  author  collections:  A  group  of  four  pamphlet  editions  of 
poems  by  Hans  Sachs  published  at  Nuremberg,  one  in  1 524,  the  others 
about  1553.  Also,  a  bulky  quarto  volume  bound  in  pigskin  in  1613  for 
Martinus  Brenner,  bishop  of  Seckau,  containing  five  anti-Lutheran 
works  by  Johann  Nas  dated  from  1581  to  1588;  one  of  the  items  is  a 
broadside  with  a  large  woodcut  satirizing  the  Reformers  and  beneath  it 

[54] 


a  long  poem  in  German  based  on  the  cut.  Finally,  five  exegetical  and 
doctrinal  works  by  Rupertus,  abbot  of  Deutz  (d.  1135),  four  published 
at  Cologne  in  1526  and  edited  by  Johannes  Cochlaeus,  the  other  pub- 
lished at  Augsburg  in  1487. 

Epistola  Luciferi  ad  spirituales,  Magdeburg,  1549,  a  pamphlet  some- 
times attributed  to  the  fourteenth-century  bishop,  Nicolas  Oresme, 
which  severely  attacks  the  corruption  of  the  church. 

A  volume  published  at  Konigsberg  in  1584  containing  short  biog- 
raphies of  all  the  grand  masters  of  the  Teutonic  Knights.  The  coat  of 
arms  of  each  master  is  reproduced  and,  in  this  copy,  colored  by  hand. 

A  debate  on  marriage  between  Ercole  and  Torquato  Tasso,  entitled 
Deir  ammogliarsi  piacevole  contesa  jra  i  due  moderni  Tassi,  Bergamo,  1593. 

For  the  Krumbhaar  Collection  of  Elzevier  imprints,  a  poem  by 
Nicolaas  Heinsius  on  the  liberation  of  Breda,  Breda  expugnata,  Leyden, 
1637,  folio,  and  Blaise  Pascal's  Les  Provinciales,  Leyden,  1659,  quarto. 

A  book  of  sermons  by  the  famous  Augustinian  preacher  of  Vienna, 
Abraham  a  Sancta  Clara  (1644-1709),  called  Wohl  angefulUer  Wein- 
keller,  Wiirzburg,  1710. 

Collections  of  statutes,  regulations,  treaties,  etc.:  Strassburg  (66 
items)  and  Brunswick  (421  items)  in  Germany;  Chartres,  Meaux, 
Senlis,  and  Berry  in  France;  Tuscany  (210  items)  in  Italy. 

From  the  Risorgimento  of  the  Italian  nineteenth-century:  All  of  the 
48  numbers  oi  Vindicator e  Livornese,  a  literary  journal  to  which  Mazzini 
contributed  and  which,  after  a  life  of  only  one  year,  was  suppressed  in 
1830  because  of  its  liberalism.  Also,  a  pamphlet  volume  of  fifty-four 
items  all  of  which  appeared  at  Naples  in  1848 — revolutionary  songs, 
constitutions,  pamphlets  on  the  Jesuits,  the  poem  Cracovia  by  Gabriele 
Rossetti,  28  (of  33)  issues  oi  UAmico  del  Popolo  (published  1848-1849), 
and  numerous  other  political  leaflets,  some  of  them  of  only  one  page. 

A  number  of  first  editions  of  French  surrealist  writers,  including 
works  by  Jouhandeau,  Rigaut,  Chirico,  Crevel,  and  Aragon,  and  the 
first  and  only  issue  of  the  periodical  Surrealisme,  October,  1924.  Also, 
complete  runs  of  two  earlier  journals,  Les  Ecrits  nouveaux  (1917-1922) 
and  Le  Parnasse  contemporain  (1866-1876). 

L.  W.  R. 

Theodore  Dreiser  Collection — Addenda 

In  May,  1958  two  trunks  and  fifteen  cartons  of  business  records, 
manuscripts  and  books  of  Theodore  Dreiser  arrived  at  the  Library  from 

[55] 


California.  Mrs.  Myrtle  Butcher  and  Mr.  Harold  Dies,  the  executors  of 
the  estate  of  Mrs.  Helen  Dreiser,  made  possible  this  invaluable  addition 
to  the  Theodore  Dreiser  Collection  already  at  the  University. 

How  often  the  student  of  literary  history  or  the  writer  of  an  author's 
biography  are  baffled  by  not  being  able  to  come  upon  the  practical  de- 
tails of  author-publisher  relationships  or  the  actual  records  of  a  writer's 
publications — because  the  harassed  publishing  houses  cannot  store 
business  records  indefinitely,  because  a  firm  prominent  thirty  years  ago 
is  now  out  of  business,  or  because  the  author  himself  gave  loving  care  to 
his  manuscripts  but  paid  little  attention  to  retaining  old  contracts  and 
correspondence  once  the  financial  details  had  been  settled. 

Fortunately  for  future  research,  Dreiser's  own  concern  for  his  records 
and  the  careful  administration  of  them  by  the  executors  have  taken  care 
of  this  problem  for  one  major  American  writer.  As  this  latest  material  is 
now  arranged,  there  are  fifteen  boxes  of  contracts  and  correspondence 
with  Dreiser's  American  and  foreign  publishers,  agents  and  translators, 
from  approximately  1923  to  the  late  1930's.  In  addition  to  material 
already  in  the  collection,  there  are  now  the  records  with  the  American 
publishers  Boni  and  Liveright,  G.  P.  Putnam's  Sons,  Simon  and 
Schuster,  John  Lane,  and  Harpers,  with  files  on  copyrights,  litigations 
between  the  author  and  publisher,  and  the  author's  statistics  on  the 
sale  of  his  books  from  1900  to  1931. 

The  European  interest  in  Dreiser  and  the  results  of  efforts  to  circulate 
his  books  abroad  can  now  be  more  fully  examined.  Two  boxes  of  records 
having  to  do  with  Germany  reveal  his  relationship  with  Paul  Zsolnay  in 
Berlin  and  Vienna,  and  Tauchnitz  in  Leipzig,  and  the  various  efforts  to 
locate  satisfactory  translators  and  to  collect  royalties  due.  There  is  one 
box  of  correspondence  and  contracts  between  Dreiser  and  Curtis  Brown 
and  Constable  and  Company  in  England  in  the  late  1920's.  Five  more 
boxes  contain  the  business  transactions  between  Dreiser  and  publishers 
and  agents  in  France,  Holland,  Japan,  South  America,  Spain,  Den- 
mark, Sweden,  Poland,  Roumania,  Russia,  Czechoslovakia,  Jugoslavia, 
Austria,  Hungary,  Italy,  and  Switzerland. 

In  Dreiser's  later  years  in  California,  he  and  Mrs.  Dreiser  were  ac- 
tively engaged  in  promoting  the  filming  of  many  of  his  stories  and 
novels.  There  are  synopses  and  scripts  of  Sister  Carrie  and  An  American 
Tragedy  by  Dreiser,  H.  S.  Kraft,  Kathryn  Sayre,  and  Patrick  Kearney. 
The  ''''Genius"  and  the  trilogy.  The  Financier,  The  Titan,  and  The  Stoic, 
were  also  given  dramatic  treatment  by  various  people,  with  Dreiser's 
suggestions  and  corrections,  indicating  interesting  attitudes  of  the 
author  toward  his  novels. 

"My  Gal  Sal,"  the  musical  movie  on  the  life  of  Paul  Dresser,  the 
popular  song  writer  and  Dreiser's  brother,  was  based  on  information 
received  from  the  family;  two  boxes  of  clippings,  letters,  and  the  scenario 
tell  the  detailed  story  of  that  event. 

[56] 


There  are  personal  business  records  and  correspondence  between 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Dreiser  which  are  restricted  for  the  present,  with  some 
early  diaries  of  his  experiences  in  Indiana  and  Pennsylvania.  Passports, 
photographs,  travel  notes,  luggage  inventories,  and  letters  tell  the  in- 
timate account  of  his  European  journeys. 

Scrapbooks  which  Mrs.  Dreiser  kept  contain  many  of  the  most  sig- 
nificant letters  written  to  Dreiser  over  the  years,  with  one  book  filled 
with  letters  which  she  received  after  his  death  in  1945. 

The  executors  also  have  added  to  the  collection  books  which  Mrs. 
Dreiser  retained  for  her  own  use  after  the  main  part  of  the  library  of 
2,000  volumes  were  catalogued  and  stored  at  the  University  in  1949. 
Three  hundred  volumes  include  autographed  editions  of  Sherwood 
Anderson,  Konrad  Bercovici,  Carl  Sandburg,  H.  L.  Mencken,  and 
Edgar  Lee  Masters.  Two  hundred  and  forty  more  books  are  all  editions 
of  Dreiser's  own  works,  many  in  foreign  translation,  with  American 
first  editions  inscribed  to  Mrs.  Dreiser.  Perhaps  the  greatest  treasure  in 
the  Dreiser  library  is  now  the  first  edition  of  Sister  Carrie  (1900)  with 
this  inscription,  "To  my  dear  Father  with  a  sort  of  inheritance  proviso 
by  which  I  manage  to  inscribe  it  also  to  Mame  and  Austin  [Dreiser's 
sister  and  brother-in-law].  If  any  of  you  fail  to  read  and  praise  it  the 
book  reverts  to  me.  With  love  (according  to  precedence)  Theodore." 

N.  M.  W. 


[57] 


Cftarlesf  C.  iSuttertoorft 

1894-1958 

On  April  9,  1958,  the  Friends  of  the  Library  and  the 
University  of  Pennsylvania  lost  a  good  friend  of  long 
standing.  Mr.  Charles  C.  Butterworth,  College, 
1915,  was  born  April  1,  1894.  After  service  in  the 
First  World  War,  graduate  work  at  the  University 
of  Pennsylvania  and  at  Jesus  College,  Cambridge, 
Mr.  Butterworth  was  an  instructor  of  English  at  the 
University  from  1919  to  1927.  During  this  period  he 
began  research  on  the  history  of  the  English  versions 
of  the  Bible  and  published  The  Literary  Lineage  of  the 
King  James  Bible,  1941,  and  English  Primers,  1953. 
For  over  forty  years  he  was  a  devoted  student  of  the 
Bible  and  wrote  many  articles  dealing  with  its  his- 
tory for  The  Library  (London),  the  Papers  of  the 
American  Bibliographical  Society,  the  Library  Chron- 
icle, the  General  Magazine  (University  of  Pennsyl- 
vania), and  the  Bulletin  of  the  New  York  Public 
Library.  Throughout  his  life  Mr.  Butterworth  made 
many  gifts  of  valuable  books  and  funds  to  the  Uni- 
versity Library.  He  was  a  personal  friend  of  many 
members  of  the  staff,  and  those  who  knew  him  and 
worked  with  him  miss  his  kind,  genteel,  and  learned 
presence. 


[58] 


Report  from  the  Secretary 
of  the  Friends  of  the  Library 

SINCE  the  Secretary's  report  in  the  spring  issue  of  the 
Library  Chronicle,  1957,  the  Friends  have  presented  an  ex- 
hibition of  rare  stamps  and  coins  from  the  collection  of  Mr.  Philip 
H.  Ward,  Jr.,  at  which  Mr.  Ward  spoke  on  his  experiences  as  a 
collector  and  the  rewards  of  collecting;  an  exhibition  and  tea 
announcing  the  Library's  acquisition  of  the  manuscripts  and 
papers  of  James  T.  Farrell;  an  open  house  for  Friends  and  inter- 
ested scholars  in  honor  of  Mr.  Gordon  A.  Block,  Jr.,  who  has 
presented  the  Library  with  a  collection  of  rare  Bibles  in  honor  of 
his  mother;  and  a  lecture  by  Mr.  Alfred  Bendiner  on  "Good- 
Humored  Architecture"  and  an  exhibition  of  his  drawings, 
prints,  and  paintings. 

The  Friends  have  purchased  three  sets  of  unique  lecture  notes 
written  by  students  at  the  School  of  Medicine  of  the  University 
shortly  after  its  founding.  These  notes  increase  considerably  the 
value  of  the  Library's  holdings  in  Benjamin  Rush  material  and 
the  history  of  the  University. 

The  contributions  of  the  Friends  toward  the  purchase  of  the 
Teerink  Collection  of  Jonathan  Swift  materials  have  now  been 
expended.  The  Collection  has  been  catalogued.  And  several 
members  of  the  Friends  have  contributed  further  Swift  materials 
which,  added  to  the  Collection,  considerably  enhance  its  value. 

Through  the  Friends,  the  Library  was  able  to  make  available 
to  the  students  and  faculty  of  the  University  one  of  the  outstand- 
ing exhibits  of  the  Library  of  Congress  on  the  "American  City  in 
the  19th  Century." 

At  Christmas  time,  the  Friends  received  greetings  bearing  a 
reproduction  of  material  in  the  Library's  Rare  Book  Collection. 
These  Christmas  cards  were  paid  for  by  the  sale  of  similar  un- 
inscribed  cards  to  the  public. 


[59] 


We  announce  with  regret  that  since  January,  1957,  the  follow- 
ing Friends  have  died: 

Mr.  C.  Barton  Brewster  Miss  Amy  Comegys 

Mr.  Charles  C.  Butterworth     Dr.  William  H.  DuBarry 
Dr.  Williams  B.  Cadwalader 

Membership  contributions  for  1957  totaled  $5,132.70.  For  the 
period  January  to  July,  1958,  the  total  was  $2,803.83.  Expendi- 
tures in  1957  amounted  to  $3,343.74.  Those  for  the  first  six 
months  of  1958  totaled  $2,735.50.  It  must  be  remembered  that 
most  of  the  Friends'  expenditure  each  year  goes  to  the  publication 
of  the  Library  Chronicle.  Books,  manuscripts,  and  other  material 
contributed  by  Friends  to  the  Library's  collection  are  listed  in 

the  Library  Notes  section  of  this  issue. 

Jesse  C.  Mills 

Secretary 


[60] 


EDITORIAL  BOARD 
Edwin  C.  Bolles  Matthias  A.  Shaaber 

LeSSING  J.  ROSENWALD  ROBERT  E.  SpILLER 

Kenneth  M.  Setton  Conway  Zirkle 

Merrill  G.  Berthrong,  Editor 

editorial  assistants 

M.  Elizabeth  Shinn  Elizabeth  C.  Borden 

Nancy  S.  Blake 


CONTENTS 

Page 
SAMUEL  FLEMING,  ELIZABETHAN  CLERGYM.\N  61 

William  E.  Miller 

A  MIDDLE  ENGLISH  LYRIC  IN  MANUSCRIPT  80 

John  Morford 

NOTES  ON  THE  EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY  GERMAN 

TRANSLATIONS  OF  SWIFT'S  GULLIVER'S  TRAVELS       84 

Matti  M.  Rossi 
LIBRARY  NOTES  89 


Published  semiannually  by  and  for  the  Friends  of  the  University  of  Pennsylvania 
Library.  Distributed  free  to  members  of  the  Friends.  Subscription  rate  for  non- 
members:  $3.00. 

Articles  and  notes  of  bibliographical  or  bibliophile  interest  are  invited.  Con- 
tributions should  be  submitted  to  The  Editor,  The  Library  Chronicle,  University  of 
Pennsylvania  Library,  Philadelphia  4,  Pennsylvania. 


Samuel  Fleming,  Elizabethan  Clergyman 

William  E.  Miller* 

THE  Dictionary  of  National  Biography  has  understandably  laid 
considerable  weight  upon  published  works  as  a  criterion  for 
inclusion  within  its  pages.  It  is  no  doubt  for  this  reason  that 
Abraham  Fleming  (1552?-1607)  received  liberal  treatment  in  a 
competent  article  by  Thompson  Cooper,  whereas  Abraham's 
older  brother  Samuel,  who  was  in  many  ways  a  more  interesting 
man,  was  neglected. 

According  to  Francis  Thynne,  Samuel  and  Abraham  Fleming 
were  "Londoners  borne. "^  Samuel's  approximate  birth  date  can 
be  inferred  from  the  admission  record  of  King's  College,  Cam- 
bridge University,  which  he  entered  in  1565  at  the  age  of 
seventeen. 2 

It  is  very  likely  that  Samuel  Fleming,  his  brother  Abraham, 
and  their  sister  Esther  (Hester)  were  born  of  parents  who  were 
precisians,  or  Puritans.  Only  these  three  children  of  the  family 
are  now  known;  the  fact  that  all  three  bore  Old  Testament 
names  can  hardly  have  been  a  coincidence;  such  names  in  the 
sixteenth  century  were  a  patent  mark  of  Puritan  beliefs.  As  far  as 
we  can  now  judge,  the  mature  Samuel  Fleming  was  a  middle-of- 
the-road  man,  but  Abraham  exhibited  clearly  many  of  the 
stigmata  of  Calvinism,  as  has  been  pointed  out  by  Sarah  C. 
Dodson.^ 

No  records  have  come  to  light  to  show  whether  or  not  Samuel 
Fleming  attended  a  petty  school;  in  fact,  we  have  evidence  of 
only  two  years'  formal  study  preparatory  to  the  University. 
According  to  Sterry's  Register,  Fleming  entered  Eton  in  1563,  no 
doubt  in  the  late  summer  or  early  autumn.^  In  October  of  that 
year  Queen  Elizabeth  came  to  Windsor  to  escape  the  plague,  and 
the  students  of  Eton  prepared  a  book  of  verses  which  was  pre- 
sented to  her.  Samuel  Fleming  was  one  of  the  young  authors  of 
this  book.^  Nothing  is  known  of  Fleming's  life  at  Eton  except  that 
he  was  a  good  student;  it  may  be  that  the  severe  discipline  then 
prevailing  in  that  school  stimulated  him  to  great  efforts.^  He 

*  University  of  Pennsylvania. 

[61] 


entered   King's   College,    Cambridge   University,   as   a   King's 
Scholar,  on  27  August  1565.^ 

Cambridge  was  a  stirring  place  in  those  days;  in  some  respects 
King's  was  less  agitated  by  exciting  events  than  other  colleges. 
For  example,  King's  was  obedient  when  some  others  were  creat- 
ing a  hubbub  over  ecclesiastical  habits.^  Most  of  the  quarrels 
between  the  Puritans  and  the  right-wing  Anglicans  seem  to  have 
passed  them  by.  On  the  other  hand,  the  fellows  and  students  of 
King's  appear  to  have  been  hard  to  satisfy  with  respect  to  their 
provosts.  In  September,  1569,  Dr.  Philip  Baker  was  complained 
of  for  keeping  popish  ornaments,  and  the  Queen's  Commissioners 
sat  in  the  matter.  Baker  terminated  the  proceedings  by  fleeing, 
perhaps  to  Louvain,  whereupon  he  was  declared  deprived.^  His 
successor  Roger  Goad  had  better  fortune.  In  1576  Giles  Fletcher, 
Robert  Liles,  Stephen  Lakes,  Robert  Johnson,  and  Robert 
Dunning,  fellows  of  King's  College,  alleged  that  they  had  forty 
charges  against  Goad;  however,  they  were  able  to  produce  only 
twenty-five,  and  these  not  strong  ones.  The  historian  John 
Strype  says  that  the  charges  were  malicious.  In  any  event, 
nothing  came  of  the  matter. 

Strype  points  to  the  fact  that  one  of  the  complaining  students 
was  Stephen  Lakes,  a  man  of  haughty  disposition  who  had  been 
reproved  by  Dr.  Goad  for  wearing  under  his  gown  a  cut  taffeta 
doublet  of  the  fashion  with  his  sleeves  out,  and  a  great  pair  of 
"galligastion"  hose.  Goad  had  punished  Lakes  a  week's  commons 
for  this  unscholarly  apparel.  Lakes  and  Dunning  for  their  part  in 
the  complaint  were  committed  by  the  Chancellor  to  the  gate- 
house, from  which  place  of  imprisonment  they  wrote  letters  of 
submission  to  Lord  Burghley.^°  Lakes  had  come  up  from  Eton 
with  Samuel  Fleming.  They  had  been  in  competition  for  highest 
place  in  the  Ordo  senioritatis  for  both  the  bachelor's  degree  (in 
which  Lakes  ranked  first  in  their  year),  and  the  master's  degree. 

Samuel  Fleming  was  not  the  kind  of  person  that  allows  himself 
to  become  involved  in  such  disputes.  We  have  no  evidence  that 
he  exhibited  any  interest  in  activities  other  than  those  of  religion 
and  scholarship.  It  is  not  likely  that  he  was  seduced  by  the 
thriving  drama,  both  commercial  and  collegiate,  that  was  at- 
tracting so  much  attention  among  students  of  the  University." 

[62] 


On  28  August  1 568  Fleming  became  a  fellow  of  King's  and  so 
remained  for  about  thirteen  years. ^^  In  spite  of  his  fellowship, 
Fleming  was  undoubtedly  subject  to  the  pinch  of  that  same 
poverty  of  which  we  have  testimony  in  the  works  of  his  brother 
Abraham.  Samuel  is  reported  to  have  received  six  shillings  and 
eight  pence  on  3  April  1569  under  the  terms  of  a  will  which 
devised  a  fund  for  the  relief  of  poor  students.  Giles  Fletcher  and 
many  others  were  beneficiaries  at  the  same  time.  Four  years 
later,  on  20  April  1573,  Fleming  received  twenty  shillings,  an 
unusually  high  amount,  whether  for  need  or  merit  it  is  now  un- 
certain. In  the  record  of  payment  on  this  occasion  Fleming  was 
designated  "poore  scholler  of  the  kinges  colledge  in  Cambridge. "^^ 

Samuel  Fleming  graduated  B.A.  in  1569-70,^^  revealing  by  his 
standing  in  the  Ordo  senioritatis  his  industry  during  the  five 
academic  years  since  his  enrollment.  His  rank  was  seventh  in  an 
Ordo  of  114  students,  immediately  ahead  of  Giles  Fletcher  (the 
elder),  who  was  eighth,  and  Gabriel  Harvey,  who  was  ninth. 
Thomas  Speght  of  Feterhouse,  who  became  one  of  the  best- 
known  of  Chaucer  scholars,  stood  fifty-fifth  in  the  same  Ordo}^ 
When  Abraham  Fleming  took  his  bachelor's  degree,  he  was 
ranked  116  in  an  Ordo  of  213  names. 

Samuel  Fleming  went  on  to  take  his  master's  degree  at  the  end 
of  the  academic  year  1572-73,  declining  to  eleventh  place  in  an 
Ordo  of  sixty-three  students.  Gabriel  Harvey  exhibited  his  matur- 
ing intellectual  powers  by  climbing  to  first  place.  Fletcher 
descended  with  Fleming,  but  kept  his  former  position  relative  to 
Fleming  (immediately  following).  Speght  was  twenty-fifth.^^ 
Finally,  at  the  end  of  the  academic  year  1579-80  Fleming  took 
the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Divinity  (or  Bachelor  of  Theology, 
indicated  by  the  letters  B.D.  or  S.T.B.).  This  time  he  was  tenth 
in  an  Ordo  of  sixteen.'^ 

In  the  meantime  Fleming  had  been  ordained  deacon  and 
priest  of  the  English  Church.  The  ceremony  was  performed  by 
Thomas  Cooper,  Bishop  of  Lincoln,  in  the  chapel  within  the 
manor  of  Buckden,  on  25  October  1576.^^  In  December  of  the 
same  year  John  Harington  matriculated  from  King's,  and 
Samuel  Fleming  became  his  tutor.  Harington  mentioned  him 
several   times   in   surviving   writings   with   the   most   profound 

[63] 


respect.  Most  revealing  perhaps  is  his  comment  in  the  prefatory 
matter  to  his  translation  of  Orlando  Furioso: 

...  I  will  tell  you  an  accident  that  happened  vnto  my  selfe.  When  I 
was  entred  a  prettie  way  into  the  translation,  about  the  seuenth  booke, 
comming  to  write  that  where  Melissa  in  the  person  of  Rogeros  Tutor, 
comes  and  reproues  Roger o  in  the  4.  staffer 

Was  it  for  this,  that  I  in  youth  thee  fed 
With  marrow?  &c.  And  againe: 
Is  this  a  meanes,  or  readie  way  you  trow, 
That  other  worthie  men  haue  trod  before, 
A  Caesar  or  a  Scipio  to  grow?  &c. 

Straight  I  began  to  thinke,  that  my  Tutor,  a  graue  and  learned  man, 
and  one  of  a  verie  austere  life,  might  say  to  me  in  like  sort,  Was  it  for 
this,  that  I  read  Aristotle  and  Plato  to  you,  and  instructed  you  so  care- 
fully both  in  Greek  and  Latin?  to  haue  you  now  becom  a  translator  of 
Italian  toyes?  But  while  I  thought  thus,  I  was  aware,  that  it  was  no 
toy  that  could  put  such  an  honest  and  serious  consideration  into  my 
minde.^^ 

Samuel  Fleming  must  have  acquired  a  respectable  reputation 
as  a  public  speaker  and  preacher.  When  the  Queen  went  on 
progress  during  the  summer  of  1578,  she  visited  Audley  End  in 
Norfolk,  the  seat  of  Sir  Henry  Lee  (Leigh),  the  Queen's  personal 
champion.  During  her  brief  stay  she  was  waited  upon  by  the 
vice-Chancellor  and  heads  of  colleges  of  Cambridge,  and  a  dis- 
putation was  held  on  27  July  1578  for  the  profit  and  pleasure  of 
the  Court.  Fleming  of  King's  upheld  solus  the  affirmative  of  two 
questions:  1)  Clementia  magis  in  Principe  laudanda  quam 
severitas,  and  2)  Astra  non  imponunt  necessitatem.^''  His  op- 
ponents were  Harvey  of  Pembroke,  Palmer  of  St.  John's,  and 
Hawkins  of  Peterhouse.  Fletcher  of  King's  was  to  have  been 
moderator,  but  Lord  Burghley  as  Chancellor  of  the  University 
took  that  office  upon  himself. ^^ 

When  a  dispute  arose  at  Cambridge  whether  rhetorical  figures 
("tropes")  and  other  artificial  ornaments  of  speech  taken  from 
profane  authors  such  as  "sentences"  and  adages  might  properly 
be  used  in  sermons,  Samuel  Fleming  "by  appointment  of  the 
heads  of  the  colledges,  in  an  excellent  sermon  determind  the 
controversie."  The  decision  was:  "That  seing  now  the  extra- 

[64] 


ordinarie  guifts,  first  of  tongues,  next  of  miracles,  was  ceased; 
and  that  knowledge  is  not  now  infusa^  but  acquisita,  we  should  not 
despise  the  helpe  of  any  humane  learning;  as  neither  St.  Paule 
did,  who  used  the  sentences  of  poets,  as  well  as  of  prophetts,  and 
hath  manie  excellent  tropes,  with  exaggerations  and  exclama- 
tions in  his  epistles:  for  chastity  doth  not  abhorre  all  ornaments, 
and  Judeth  did  attire  her  head  as  curiouslie  as  Jesabel.  .  .  ."^^ 
In  this  instance  it  is  evident  that  Samuel  Fleming  was  taking  a 
stand  in  behalf  of  the  authorities  against  the  Puritan  extremists 
who  found  ornament  even  in  the  rhetoric  of  sermons  a  stumbling 
block. 

On  1 1  April  1581  Samuel  Fleming  was  instituted  to  the  rector- 
ship of  Cottenham  in  Cambridgeshire.^^  He  had  probably  been 
acting  there  in  a  minor  clerical  capacity  while  he  was  still  in 
attendance  at  the  University,  for  under  the  date  of  1579  there  is 
an  entry  in  the  registers  of  the  diocese  of  Ely,  "Sam.  Flemyng 
M.A.  Preacher  or  Curate y^^  Also  in  1581,  probably  on  or  about  19 
September,  Fleming  was  admitted  to  the  benefice  of  the  parish  of 
Bottesford  in  Leicestershire.^^  He  thus  became  a  pluralist,  but 
neither  he  nor  anyone  else  betrayed  any  stirrings  of  conscience  as 
a  result,  though  he  appears  to  have  kept  both  livings  until  his 
death  almost  forty  years  later.  The  patrons  of  the  church  at 
Bottesford  during  Fleming's  ministry  were  Edward  Manners, 
third  Earl  of  Rutland,  and  his  successors. ^^ 

A  chaplain  to  the  Earl  of  Rutland  died  in  1582.^  It  may  be 
that  Samuel  Fleming  succeeded  to  the  vacancy.  By  1586  at  the 
latest  Fleming  was  one  of  the  chaplains  to  the  Earl  of  Rutland; 
in  that  year  he  accompanied  his  patron,  in  a  train  of  about  five 
hundred  persons,  to  the  negotiations  and  ceremonies  involved  in 
the  signing  of  the  treaty  of  Berwick  on  20  June.  The  names  of  the 
more  important  persons  in  the  party  are  listed  as:  "The  Erie  of 
Rutland;  Mr.  Jhon  Manners,  his  brother;  Sir  Robert  Cunstable, 
knight;  Mr.  George  Campolle  of  Linconsheir;  Mr.  Docter 
Marberke,  my  lord's  phisition;  Mr.  Flemminge;  Mr.  Gygon,  his 
lordship's  Chapleines."^^ 

Fleming  was  chaplain  to  four  earls  of  Rutland  in  succession: 
Edward  (d.l587),  John  (d.1587/8),  Roger  (d.l612),  and  Francis 
(d.  1632). 2^  Of  these  four,  by  far  the  best  known  to  modern  readers 

[65] 


is  Roger.  When  he  was  in  London,  he  seems  to  have  divided  his 
time  between  play-going  and  treasonable  activities  in  the  com- 
pany of  the  Earl  of  Essex. ^°  So  enthusiastic  a  follower  of  the 
theater  can  hardly  have  escaped  seeing  some  of  Shakespeare's 
plays.  Indeed,  Roger  Manners  has  been  suspected  by  some 
amateur  scholars  of  being  Shakespeare.^^  It  was  for  Roger's 
younger  brother  Francis,  who  succeeded  to  the  title,  that 
Shakespeare  invented  and  Richard  Burbage  painted  an  impresa 
(device  to  be  placed  on  a  shield  for  a  tournament)  .^^  It  is  doubt- 
ful whether  Fleming  had  any  contact  with  Shakespeare.  Even  if 
the  playwright  had  visited  Belvoir  Castle,  as  he  may  well  have 
done  in  the  days  of  the  fun-loving  Roger,  Fleming  would  have 
been  unlikely  to  appear  in  such  light  company. 

Samuel  Fleming's  two  benefices  and  his  chaplaincy  must  have 
raised  him  above  the  financial  cares  that  had  in  some  degree 
oppressed  him  as  a  young  man.  Bottesford  alone  was  worth 
£51  5s.  a  year.^'  What  Samuel's  total  income  was  we  have  no 
means  of  knowing,  but  he  was  sufficiently  prosperous  by  1592  to 
make  a  Commencement  donation  of  two  shillings  and  six  pence 
toward  the  building  of  a  steeple  for  the  church  of  St.  Mary  the 
Great  at  Cambridge.^*  We  have  the  name  of  a  servant  employed 
by  Fleming.^^ 

On  18  February  1586/7  Samuel's  sister  Esther  was  married 
to  Thomas  Davenport  (sometimes  written  Damport),  minister  of 
Harston  in  Leicestershire.  Their  marriage  appears  in  the  Bottes- 
ford register,  and  it  is  reasonable  to  suppose  that  Samuel  Fleming 
performed  the  ceremony.  Harston  is  a  village  a  few  miles  from 
Bottesford.  If  Esther  Fleming  was  visiting  her  brother  Samuel  or 
was  acting  as  his  housekeeper,  there  would  probably  have  been 
many  opportunities  for  meeting  clergymen  attached  to  surround- 
ing parishes. 

It  is  possible  that  Fleming  was  awarded  the  degree  of  Doctor  of 
Divinity  between  8  December  1590  and  8  July  1592.  Between 
these  two  dates  there  was  a  change  of  style  of  Fleming  from  B.D. 
to  D.D.  in  the  Manor  of  Cottenham,  Court  Rolls. ^®  The  eight- 
eenth-century antiquarian  Anthony  Allen  wrote,  in  a  record 
which  is  a  part  of  a  manuscript  series  of  biographies  of  members 
of  King's  College  now  preserved  in  the  college  library,  that 

[66] 


Samuel  Fleming  was  in  time  "dignified  with  the  Degree  of 
D.D."^^  Moreover,  he  was  almost  invariably  called  "Doctor 
Fleming"  in  later  life.  On  the  other  hand,  I  have  not  been  able  to 
find  any  record  of  an  award  of  the  doctorate  to  Fleming  in  the 
published  documents  of  either  Oxford  or  Cambridge.  Certainly 
the  Venns  knew  nothing  of  it  when  they  compiled  Alumni 
Cantabrigienses. 

Many  an  obscure  book  and  many  a  man  less  well-known  than 
Samuel  Fleming  have  stirred  interest  by  their  connections  (often 
remote)  with  the  origins  of  New  World  culture.  Fleming's  title 
to  fame  in  this  category  comes  from  the  agreement  on  common 
rights  made  at  Cottenham  in  1596,  among  the  holders  of  land 
there.  Samuel  Fleming's  name  is  recited  with  others  as  that  of  a 
party  to  the  agreement  made  between  William  Hinde  of  Madd- 
ingley  of  the  one  part;  and  the  heads  and  scholars  of  several 
Cambridge  colleges,  Samuel  Fleming  parson  of  the  rectory  of 
Cottenham,  Hobson  the  famous  Cambridge  carrier,  several  of  the 
Pepys  family,  and  others  of  the  second  part.^^  The  editor  of 
Common  Rights  at  Cottenham  &  Stretham  in  Cambridgeshire  points  to 
this  agreement  as  playing  an  important  part  in  the  constitutional 
and  political  history  of  the  United  States  through  its  influence 
upon  similar  agreements  in  force  in  Massachusetts  a  few  years 
later,  at  Chelsea  in  1638,  at  Maiden  in  1678,  and  at  Lexington.^^ 

Fleming  had  at  least  one  assistant  at  Bottesford,  and  several  at 
Cottenham  at  various  times. ^°  He  would  need  a  curate  at  one 
place  or  the  other  constantly,  and  probably  at  both,  especially 
if  he  made  a  practice  of  accompanying  his  patrons  on  their 
travels  as  he  had  done  in  the  case  of  the  third  Earl's  journey  to 
Berwick.  At  least  from  the  summer  of  1 596  to  the  summer  of  1 597, 
Roger,  the  fifth  Earl,  was  abroad  in  Italy  and  France;  Fleming 
may  have  been  with  him.^^ 

A  painstaking  search  of  county  records  would  probably  reveal 
many  instances  of  Fleming's  functioning  in  positions  of  trust.  At 
least  one  such  record  has  been  published.  Under  the  will  of 
Richard  Wilde  of  Nettleworth  in  Nottinghamshire,  proved  24 
July  1592,  lands  previously  given  in  trust  to  Samuel  Fleming  and 
Richard  Innocente  "to  the  use  of  myself  and  brother  Gervase  or 
either  of  us,"  were  now  given  to  Gervase  and  his  heirs.  "To 

[67] 


Samuell  Fleminge"  was  devised  "a  ringe  worthe  twentie  shill- 
inges."  Fleming  and  one  Robert  Rastell  were  to  be  supervisors  of 
the  will. ^2 

On  the  whole,  Fleming's  choice  of  a  rural  life  and  his  discretion 
must  have  given  him  a  fairly  placid  existence,  in  spite  of  the 
vagaries  of  his  patrons.  On  one  occasion  he  may  have  been  per- 
sonally involved  in  the  royal  displeasure.  When  Elizabeth, 
Countess  of  Rutland,  was  in  the  Queen's  bad  graces  during  the 
summer  of  1594  for  allowing  her  daughter,  the  Lady  Bridget 
Manners,  to  marry  Robert  Tyrwhit,  she  received  news  from 
Court  that  it  was  the  Queen's  belief  that  the  young  woman  had 
been  encouraged  by  her  mother,  since  the  marriage  could  hardly 
have  taken  place  without  the  mother's  knowledge,  "the  same 
beinge  no  lesse  than  the  mariage  of  your  owne  daughter,  in  your 
owne  house,  and  by  your  owne  chaplain."  On  24  November  of 
the  same  year.  Lord  Hunsdon,  the  Lord  Chamberlain,  wrote  to 
intimate  that  the  Queen's  anger  was  somewhat  appeased,  at  least 
toward  the  young  couple,  though  she  still  blamed  the  Countess  of 
Rutland  in  the  affair. ^^ 

Belvoir  Castle,  the  principal  seat  of  the  Manners  family,  was  so 
situated  as  to  be  a  convenient  stopping  place  for  parties  passing 
between  the  North  and  South  of  England.  One  of  the  most 
impressive  of  these  visits  must  have  been  that  which  was  made  by 
King  James  when  he  was  on  his  way  to  receive  the  English 
crown.  He  stayed  for  the  night  of  22-23  April  1603  at  Belvoir, 
The  solemnity  of  the  occasion  was  heightened  by  the  facts  that 
the  King  arrived  on  Good  Friday  and  that  he  created  almost 
fifty  new  knights  then  and  there. ^* 

In  1607  Samuel  Fleming  received  a  visit  from  his  brother 
Abraham  which  ended  at  Abraham's  death  on  18  September.  He 
was  commended  to  future  memory  by  a  memorial  brass  inscribed 
with  verses  in  Latin  written  by  his  own  hand.  This  brass  is  now 
to  be  seen  in  the  floor  of  the  chancel  of  the  church  of  St.  Mary  the 
Virgin  at  Bottesford,  where  Samuel  Fleming  was  once  rector. 
Though  Samuel  Fleming  was  older  than  his  brother  by  about 
four  years,  he  survived  him  by  thirteen  years,  and  was  active 
almost  until  his  death.  One  or  two  honors  came  to  him  in  this 
latter  stage  of  his  life.  On  19  January  1609/10  Samuel  Fleming 

[68] 


was  collated  to  the  office  of  prebendary  of  Southwell,  and  on  the 
last  day  of  that  month  he  was  admitted  thereto,  succeeding 
Thomas  Pettye,  who  had  died.^^  When  Roger,  the  fifth  Earl  of 
Rutland,  died,  the  choristers  of  Southwell  sang  at  his  funeral  in 
the  church  at  Bottesford.  Fleming  was  entrusted  with  the  dis- 
tribution of  their  fee  of  twenty  pounds. ^^ 

In  view  of  Fleming's  position  in  the  Church  it  is  pleasant  to 
notice  that,  without  any  record  of  interference  or  protest  from 
him,  the  Dedham  Classis,  one  of  the  pioneer  bodies  of  English 
Presbyterianism,  met  from  time  to  time  at  Bottesford.'*''  It  must 
be  admitted  indeed  that  Samuel  Fleming  may  secretly  have 
shared  some  of  the  non-orthodox  sentiments  that  circulated  at 
Cambridge  in  his  day.  Moreover,  Presbyterian  beliefs  and  prac- 
tices did  not  excite  the  degree  of  odium  that  attached  to  some  of 
the  more  radical  bodies.  One  of  the  Presbyterian  synods  was  held 
at  Cambridge,  in  St.  John's  College,  in  ISSQ.''^ 

Fleming's  public  record  ends  with  a  sinister  act.  Henry  Man- 
ners, infant  son  of  Francis,  sixth  Earl  of  Rutland,  fell  ill,  died,  and 
was  buried  on  26  September  1613.  His  brother  Francis  was 
afflicted  but  survived  for  five  years  more.  Their  mother  was  also 
ill.  The  belief  that  they  had  been  bewitched  seems  to  have  grown 
slowly,  finally  coming  to  a  focus  of  suspicion  upon  Joan  Flower 
and  her  daughters  Margaret  and  Philippa.  Margaret  had  been 
in  service  at  the  castle  and  had  been  dismissed  for  pilfering;  some 
accusers  therefore  offered  vengeance  as  a  motive  for  the  wicked 
deeds.  It  was  now  noticed  that  Joan  Flower  had  been  behaving 
in  a  peculiar  manner.  One  Thomas  Simpson  contributed  the 
information  that  Philippa  Flower  had  made  amorous  advances 
to  him  and  had  bewitched  him  when  he  repulsed  her.  Three 
other  women,  Anne  Baker,  Joan  Willimot,  and  Ellen  Green, 
were  suspected  of  having  practiced  witchcraft  with  the  Flowers, 
though  it  was  the  latter  who  were  specifically  accused  of  bewitch- 
ing the  Earl's  wife  and  children. 

All  six  women  were  arrested  in  1618,  five  years  after  the  sup- 
posed acts  of  witchcraft  directed  at  the  Manners  family.  They 
were  examined  before  the  Earl  of  Rutland,  Francis  Lord  Will- 
oughby  of  Eresby,  Sir  George  Manners,  Sir  William  Pelham,  Sir 
Henry  Hastings,  Samuel  Fleming,  and  others,  most  of  whom 

[69] 


were  Justices  of  the  Peace  for  the  County  of  Leicester.  Margaret 
Flower  accused  her  mother  of  witchcraft,  and  Phihppa  con- 
fessed to  deeds  of  witchcraft  in  behalf  of  her  mother,  her  sister, 
and  herself.  The  Flowers  were  consequently  committed  to  prison 
at  Lincoln  to  await  the  assizes.  The  mother  died  at  Ancaster  on 
her  way  to  Lincoln.  The  two  daughters  were  tried  before  Sir 
Henry  Hobart,  Chief  Justice  of  the  Common  Pleas,  and  Sir 
Edward  Bromley,  one  of  the  Barons  of  the  Exchequer.  Having 
confessed  their  guilt,  the  two  women  were  executed  on  11  March 
1618/19.^9 

Though  he  perhaps  spent  most  of  his  time  at  Bottesford, 
Samuel  Fleming  appears  to  have  visited  his  living  at  Cottenham 
at  least  upon  occasion,  perhaps  at  regular  intervals,  perhaps 
when  he  wished  to  visit  old  friends  in  Cambridge  or  attend 
ceremonies  there.  He  died  "in  the  Pulpit"  of  Cottenham  church, 
probably  in  early  September  of  1620,  and  was  buried,  no  doubt 
in  the  churchyard,  on  either  the  12th  or  the  13th  of  that  month. 
No  monument  for  him  is  now  to  be  found  here  or  in  the  church 
at  Bottesford. ^° 

About  two  months  after  her  brother's  death,  on  14  November 
1620,  Esther  Davenport,  a  widow  since  1618,  married  John 
Knowells  of  Bottesford,  clerk.  She  survived  less  than  two  more 
years,  since  her  burial  took  place  on  8  May  1622.  It  appears  that 
Samuel  Fleming  during  his  lifetime  had  made  a  gift  of  land  for 
the  foundation  of  a  hospital  for  poor  widows,  not  paupers,  this 
land  being  reserved  for  his  sister's  use  during  her  life.^^  Four  days 
before  her  second  marriage  Esther  Davenport  enfeoffed  John 
Knowells  in  two  cottages  in  Bottesford  and  in  certain  lands  "for 
the  sole  benefit  and  behoof  of  four  poor,  impotent,  and  aged 
widows  of  the  parish  of  Bottesford  .  .  .  ,"  thus  (as  it  seems) 
confirming  her  brother's  gift.^^  Since  Samuel  Fleming  left  no  will, 
letters  of  administration  were  issued;  they  appear  to  have  been 
made  in  the  name  of  Esther  Davenport,  though  at  the  time  of 
issue  (June,  1622)  she  was  already  deceased. ^^ 

Samuel  Fleming  was  not  a  prolific  writer,  though  he  com- 
menced promisingly  with  a  group  of  Latin  verses  written  at  the 
age  of  fifteen  or  thereabouts.  On  her  visit  to  Eton  College  in  1563 
Queen  Elizabeth  was  presented  with  an  elaborate  manuscript 

[70] 


book  entitled  "De  adventu  gratissimo  ac  maxime  optato 
ELIZABETHAE,  nobilissimae  ac  illustrissimae  Reginae  Angliae, 
Franciae,  et  Hiberniae,  Fidei  Defendatricis,  ad  has  Arces 
VINDESORENSES  suas  AETONENSIUM  Scholarum  maxime 
triumphans  Oratio."  A  learned  oration  is  followed  by  seventy- 
two  epigrams  by  about  a  score  of  students,  many  of  them  per- 
forming more  than  once,  some  as  many  as  six  times.  Fleming 
contributed  three  epigrams  with  a  total  of  forty-four  lines.  One 
uses  the  acrostic  device  at  the  beginnings  of  lines,  the  reading 
being  "O  GOD  PRAESERVE  OVR  NOBLE  QVEN."  One 
four-line  epigram  has  an  acrostic  at  both  the  beginning  and  the 
end  of  the  lines,  reading  "VIVE"  at  the  beginning  and  "VALE" 
at  the  end.^'' 


\      ntrtno  Cfmdo  mn  cmf'^t  A 
^     t  pnim  C^li  tcp^i'ffs  trikrtfi    }. 

Fitranrraoc 


^ 


In  the  1576  edition  of  John  Foxe's  Acts  and  Monuments  there 
appeared  a  letter  "To  the  Reader,"  signed  "6am.  Fleminge.''''  The 
letter  is  religious  in  nature,  and  there  is  no  obvious  clue  to  reveal 
the  reason  for  Fleming's  having  been  invited  to  contribute  it, 
aside  from  his  religious  calling.  The  fact  that  this  letter  concludes 
with  a  "Farewell  from  Camb.  Kinges  Coll.''''  suggests  that  Fleming 
was  not  in  close  contact  with  the  printers  and  publishers  of 
London. ^^  It  seems  most  likely  that  the  invitation  to  contribute 
came  from  Richard  Day,  like  Samuel  Fleming  a  fellow  of  King's. 

[71] 


who,  according  to  J.  F.  Mozley  in  John  Foxe  and  His  Book,  com- 
piled a  fresh  index  for  this  third  edition,  wrote  a  poem,  and  seems 
to  have  seen  the  book  through  the  press. ^^ 

According  to  Francis  Thynne,  Samuel  Fleming  was  the  author 
of  an  unpublished  Latin  history  of  the  reign  of  Queen  Mary 
Tudor.  The  reference  appears  in  the  account  of  Samuel  and  his 
brother  which  was  made  a  part  of  the  listing  of  historical  writers 
by  Thynne  in  the  1587  edition  of  Holinshed's  Chronicles.  Thynne 
wrote  that  it  was  an  elegant  work.^^ 

Finally,  Samuel  Fleming  was  the  author  of  a  commendatory 
poem  in  Latin  attached  to  Edward  Grant's  Graecae  linguae 
spicilegium  (1575). 

I  know  of  no  evidence  that  Samuel  Fleming  ever  married.  As 
has  been  noticed,  the  Queen  did  not  hesitate  to  interfere  in  the 
private  affairs  of  the  Manners  family  (as  she  did  in  the  case  of  the 
Lady  Bridget  Manners'  marriage);  the  Queen  was  notoriously 
opposed  to  marriage  among  the  clergy;  if  the  Manners  had  been 
so  bold  as  to  appoint  or  keep  a  married  chaplain,  it  seems  likely 
that  there  would  have  been  some  record  of  her  disapproval. 

NOTES 

In  preparing  this  paper  I  was  greatly  aided  by  the  superior  resources 
of  English  Renaissance  materials  in  the  University  of  Pennsylvania 
Libraries,  especially  in  the  Horace  Howard  Furness  Memorial  Library. 

1.  Holinshed's  Chronicles  (1587),  HI,  1590. 

2.  John  Venn  and  J.  A.  Venn,  Alumni  Cantabrigienses,  (Cambridge, 
1922-27),  part  1. 

3.  "Abraham  Fleming,  Writer  and  Editor,"  The  University  of  Texas 
Studies  in  English,  XXXIV  (1955),  51-66. 

4.  Quoted  to  me  by  Tom  Lyon,  Esq.,  Librarian  of  Eton  College. 

5.  Among  the  others  were  Giles  Fletcher,  who  became  Ambassador 
to  Russia;  Stephen  Lakes,  a  brilliant  and  rebellious  fellow  who 
later  made  himself  notorious  at  King's  College,  Cambridge;  and 
John  Long,  later  Archbishop  of  Armagh. 

6.  Roger  Ascham  told  of  his  meeting  with  certain  important  persons 
of  the  Court,  on  10  December  1563,  at  which  meeting  Lord 
Burghley  reported  that  he  had  news  from  Eton  of  various  scholars' 
having  run  away  for  fear  of  a  beating.  Cf.  English  Works,  ed.  W.  A. 
Wright  (Cambridge,  1904),  p.  175.  In  view  of  connections  that  can 

[72] 


be  observed  to  have  existed  between  Cecil  and  the  Fleming 
brothers,  it  is  not  impossible  that  Cecil's  informant  was  Samuel 
himself. 

7.  Alumni  Cantabrigienses. 

8.  Letter  of  eleven  fellows  to  the  Chancellor,  17  December  1565. 
Charles  Henry  Cooper,  Annals  of  Cambridge  (Cambridge,  1842-45), 
II,  224. 

9.  Cooper,  Annals,  II,  244ff. 

10.  John  Strype,  Annals  of  the  Reformation  and  Establishment  of  Religion  in 
the  Church  of  England,  During  Queen  Elizabeth'' s  Happy  Reign  (Oxford, 
1824),  II,  ii,  36-41;  and  Cooper,  Annals,  II,  346. 

1 1 .  Gammer  Gurtons  Nedle  is  said  to  have  been  first  performed  in  Christ's 
College,  Cambridge. 

12.  For  the  date  I  am  indebted  to  A.  N.  L.  Munby,  Esq.,  Librarian, 
King's  College,  Cambridge. 

13.  The  Spending  of  the  Money  of  Robert  Nowell  of  Reade  Hall,  Lancashire: 
Brother  of  Dean  Alexander  Nowell,  1568-1580,  ed.  Alexander  B. 
Grosart  (for  private  circulation,  1877),  pp.  178  and  184.  Lancelot 
Andrewes  received  ten  shillings  in  March  of  1573. 

14.  Probably  on  16  March,  since  the  Thursday  before  Palm  Sunday 
was  the  normal  day  for  awarding  the  degree  of  bachelor,  as  distinct 
from  the  higher  degrees  which  were  conferred  at  Commencement, 
the  first  Tuesday  in  July. 

15.  Grace  Book  A,  Containing  the  Records  of  the  University  of  Cambridge  for 
the  Tears  1542-1589,  ed.  John  Venn  (Cambridge,  1910),  p.  233.  In 
his  introduction  Dr.  Venn  discusses  the  significance  of  the  Ordo 
senioritatis  and  concludes  that  it  is  "nearly  certain  that  some  notion 
of  merit,  in  the  sense  of  intellectual  superiority,  must  have  been 
recognized  all  along  [i.e.  over  and  above  a  change  in  its  significance 
that  seemingly  culminated  in  the  first  part  of  the  eighteenth  cen- 
tury] ;  at  least  as  far  as  the  men  toward  the  top  of  the  list  are  con- 
cerned" (p.  ix).  Fletcher  and  Fleming  had  come  up  from  Eton 
together. 

16.  Grace  Book  A,  pp.  261-263. 

17.  Grace  Book  A,  pp.  331-332. 

18.  Lincoln  Episcopal  Records  in  the  Time  of  Thomas  Cooper,  S.T.P.,  Bishop 
of  Lincoln  A.D.  1571  to  A.D.  1584,  ed.  C.  W.  Foster  (London,  1913), 
p.  87.  The  fact  that  the  ordination  was  performed  in  the  diocese  of 
Lincoln  may  tend  to  indicate  that  whatever  ties  the  Flemings  had 
with  London  were  broken.  There  are  other  indications  to  the  same 
effect.  Abraham  Fleming  was  ordained  in  the  diocese  of  Peter- 

[73] 


borough.  He  was  buried  in  his  brother's  parish  church  of  Bottesford 
in  Leicestershire.  Samuel  Fleming  himself  was  buried  at  Cottenham 
in  Cambridgeshire.  A  few  years  after  Samuel  Fleming's  ordination 
by  Bishop  Cooper,  Abraham  Fleming  compiled  a  table  of  common- 
places for  Cooper's  Certaine  Sermons  VVherin  Is  Contained  the  Defense 
of  the  Gospell  (1580),  but  it  is  unlikely  that  there  was  any  connection 
between  the  two  events. 

19.  Orlando  Furioso  in  English  Heroical  Verse  by  John  Harington.  Imprinted 
by  Richard  Field,  1591.  Samuel  Fleming  is  identified  in  the  margin 
as  the  tutor  referred  to.  See  also  Nugae  Antiquae,  ed.  Henry  Haring- 
ton and  later  Thomas  Park  (London,  1804),  especially  the  account 
of  the  Bishop  of  Peterborough,  Dr.  Thomas  Dove,  and  the  letter 
written  by  Lord  Burghley  to  the  young  John  Harington  (son  of  his 
old  friend  John  Harington  the  elder)  in  which  Burghley  recom- 
mended to  the  younger  Harington,  then  under  the  tutelage  of 
Samuel  Fleming,  the  method  of  double  translation  employed  by  Sir 
John  Cheke  (and  after  him  by  Roger  Ascham).  In  the  extract 
quoted,  John  Harington  put  in  the  mouth  of  Samuel  Fleming  a 
sentiment  about  "Italian  toyes"  that  sounds  as  if  it  might  have 
come  from  the  pen  of  Roger  Ascham.  Fleming  may  indeed  have 
come  under  the  direct  or  indirect  influence  of  Ascham,  whose 
connections  with  Cambridge  were  so  intimate.  In  turn,  Fleming 
must  have  exerted  a  powerful  sway  over  Harington.  Tutor  and 
pupil  lived  in  so  close  an  association  in  the  Cambridge  colleges  that 
the  tutor's  personal  life  as  well  as  his  mental  abilities  and  accom- 
plishments must  have  influenced  his  pupils  profoundly  for  good  or 
ill.  Tutor  and  pupil  even  occupied  the  same  quarters,  the  pupil's 
truckle  bed  (or  trundle  bed)  being  stored  beneath  the  tutor's  when 
not  in  use.  Cf.  The  Second  Part  of  The  Return  from  Parnassus,  lines  942- 
958,  in  The  Three  Parnassus  Plays,  ed.  J.  B.  Leishman  (London, 
1949),  pp.  285-286. 

20.  Several  of  Shakespeare's  characters  took  positions  on  the  second 
proposition.  Cassius'  argument  "The  fault,  dear  Brutus,  is  not  in 
our  stars,  /  But  in  ourselves,  that  we  are  underlings"  (Julius  Caesar, 
I.  ii)  is  opposed  to  Kent's  "It  is  the  stars,  /  The  stars  above  us, 
govern  our  conditions  .  .  ."  (King  Lear,  IV.  iii). 

21.  The  Progresses  and  Public  Processions  of  Queen  Elizabeth,  ed.  John 
Nichols  (London,  1788-1821),  II,  i-iv.  Also  Cooper,  Annals,  II, 
362-365.  The  record  does  not  show  whether  or  not  Fleming  was 
mauled  by  the  formidable  opposition.  In  spite  of  an  evident  want  of 
information  about  the  event,  Thomas  Nashe  used  it  for  ammunition 
in  his  perpetual  war  with  Gabriel  Harvey.  The  Works  of  Thomas 
Nashe,  ed.  R.  B.  McKerrow,  reprint,  ed.  F.  P.  Wilson  (Oxford, 

[74] 


1958),  III,  73-78.  The  Queen  herself  had  retired  and  was  not 
present  at  the  disputation,  a  fact  of  which  Nashe  was  not  at  first 
aware.  According  to  Nichols,  the  students  could  not  find  lodging  in 
Walden  and  so  were  obliged  to  return  to  Cambridge  in  the  middle 
of  the  night. 

22.  Nugae  Antiquae,  II,  206-209.  The  selection  of  Fleming  is  striking 
because  of  the  large  number  of  University  preachers.  Lansdowne 
MS  33  (British  Museum)  lists  more  than  130  of  them,  including 
Samuel  Fleming,  for  the  year  1581. 

23.  Common  Rights  at  Cottenham  &  Stretham  in  Cambridgeshire,  ed.  W. 
Cunningham  (Camden  Society,  1910),  p.  189.  The  head  of  the 
Pepys  family,  from  which  the  diarist  sprang,  was  the  patron  during 
Fleming's  incumbency.  The  resignation  of  Fleming's  predecessor  at 
Cottenham,  Edward  Leeds,  LL.D.,  was  dated  27  November,  23 
Elizabeth  (1 580).  John  Pepys's  letter  to  the  Bishop  of  Ely  requesting 
the  admission  of  Samuel  Fleming  in  Leeds's  place  was  written  on 
1  March,  23  Elizabeth  (1580/1).  Cambridge  University  Library 
Manuscript  Mm. 1.39  (Baker  28),  pp.  78-79,  bears  a  copy  of  this 
letter.  See  also  Alumni  Cantabrigienses. 

24.  Ely  Episcopal  Records,  ed.  A.  Gibbons  (for  private  circulation,  1891), 
p.  177. 

25.  Lincoln  Episcopal  Records,  p.  43. 

26.  A  law  against  holding  more  than  one  living  at  the  same  time,  which 
was  enacted  about  1588,  is  recorded  by  Strype,  Annals  of  the  Re- 
formation, III,  ii,  53-54.  Those  persons  who  already  possessed  more 

than  one  benefice  might  keep  them,  but  they  must  reside  at  one  of 
them.  Fines  were  prescribed  for  absence.  Cf.  Sedley  L.  Ware,  The 
Elizabethan  Parish  in  Its  Ecclesiastical  and  Financial  Aspects  (Baltimore, 
1908),  p.  26;  and  L.  G.  Bolingbroke,  "The  Reformation  of  a 
Norfolk  Parish,"  Norfolk  Archaeology,  XIII  (1898),  199-216. 

27.  The  Manuscripts  of  His  Grace  the  Duke  of  Rutland,  G.C.B.,  Preserved  at 
Belvoir  Castle  (London,  1888-1905),  I,  135. 

28.  Calendar  of  State  Papers  Relating  to  Scotland  and  Mary,  Queen  of  Scots 
7547-7603,  ed.  Markham  John  Thorpe  et  al.  (London,  1858-1936), 
VIII,  453.  Several  people  of  the  name  of  Constable  in  the  party 
were  undoubtedly  related  to  the  poet,  whose  grandmother  was  a 
Manners.  "Mr.  Gygon"  was  probably  John  Jegon,  who  was  Bishop 
of  Norwich  from  1602  to  1618.  He  acted  as  tutor  in  the  family  of 
Manners  for  a  time. 

29.  There  are  records  of  activity  on  Fleming's  part  in  the  service  of  all 
four  of  these  holders  of  the  title.  It  might  be  added  that  this  vener- 
able title  is  still  in  the  same  family.  Charles  Manners,  tenth  Duke 

[75] 


of  Rutland,  is  the  present  holder,  Belvoir  Castle  is  still  the  family 
residence,  but  the  estate  is  now  the  Belvoir  Estates,  Ltd.  For  this 
information  I  am  indebted  to  the  Reverend  Canon  A.  T.  G.  Black- 
more,  M.A.,  Rector  of  the  church  of  St.  Mary  the  Virgin  at  Bottes- 
ford.  Samuel  Fleming  was  an  important  figure  at  the  funerals  of  the 
first  three  earls  mentioned,  not  only  because  of  his  position  as 
chaplain  but  also  because  of  his  functions  as  rector  of  the  Bottesford 
parish  church,  which  was  the  traditional  place  of  burial  of  the  Earls 
of  Rutland.  At  least  three  of  the  tombs  in  the  church  were  designed 
by  members  of  the  family  of  Janssen  (Johnson),  who  were  also  the 
designers  of  Shakespeare's  tomb  in  the  Stratford  church.  In  design- 
ing Shakespeare's  tomb  the  Johnsons  used  plans  which  they  had 
already  devised  for  a  monument  at  Bottesford,  simplifying  them  as 
befitted  Shakespeare's  inferior  rank  (and,  no  doubt,  the  lower  cost 
of  his  monument).  Joseph  Quincy  Adams,  A  Life  of  William 
Shakespeare  (Boston,  1925),  pp.  478-480. 

30.  For  his  attendance  at  plays  see  Letters  and  Memorials  of  State,  ed. 
Arthur  Collins  (London,  1746),  II,  90-91  and  132.  Roger's  par- 
ticipation in  Essex's  revolt  was  perhaps  no  more  than  the  foolishness 
of  a  young  man  led  astray  by  a  man  of  considerable  charm  who  was 
ten  years  his  elder  and  had  seen  a  good  deal  of  the  world.  Roger 
was  sent  to  the  Tower  but  was  released  after  a  six  months'  term. 
The  High  Sheriff  of  Nottinghamshire  was  ordered  by  the  Privy 
Council  to  seize  Belvoir  Castle  and  the  Earl's  lands,  goods,  and 
chattels.  It  transpires,  however,  from  a  rather  uncommunicative 
group  of  published  documents  that  the  Queen,  gradually  relenting, 
was  satisfied  at  length  with  the  assessment  of  an  enormous  fine 
(variously  reported  as  £20,000  and  £30,000).  Rutland  was  even 
restored  to  limited  Parliamentary  functions.  Acts  of  the  Privy  Council, 
N.S.  XXXI  (1600-01),  148-149,  371,  and  487;  and  XXXII  (1601- 
04),  143.  See  also  The  Manuscripts  of  His  Grace  the  Duke  of  Rutland, 
I,  373-374. 

31.  E.g.  Celestin  Demblon,  Lord  Rutland  est  Shakespeare:  Le  plus  grand  des 
Mysteres  devoile  Shaxper  de  Stratford  liars  cause  (Paris,  1913),  and  Claud 
W.  Sykes,  Alias  William  Shakespeare?  (London,  1947).  Roger  Man- 
ners certainly  had  some  associations  with  literary  people.  He  mar- 
ried Sir  Philip  Sidney's  daughter  Elizabeth. 

32.  The  Manuscripts  of  His  Grace  the  Duke  of  Rutland,  IV,  494  (31  March 
1613). 

33.  William  Burton,  The  Description  of  Leicester  Shire  (London,  1622), 
sig.  Gl^ 

34.  Churchwardens'  Accounts  of  St.  Mary  the  Great,  Cambridge,  from  1504  to 
1635,  ed.  J.  E.  Foster  (Cambridge,  1905),  f.  197a. 

[76] 


35.  His  name  was  John  Underwood.  See  John  Nichols,  The  History  and 
Antiquities  of  the  County  of  Leicester  (London,  1795-1815),  II,  i,  91, 

36.  For  this  information  I  am  indebted  to  the  Reverend  L.  S.  Maurice, 
M.A.,  present  Rector  of  Cottenham  in  Cambridgeshire. 

37.  For  this  information  I  am  indebted  to  A,  N.  L.  Munby,  Esq., 
Librarian  of  King's  College. 

38.  No  signature  of  Fleming  is  to  be  found  with  the  others  at  the  end 
of  the  (published)  document. 

39.  Common  Rights,  p.  183. 

40.  Nichols,  Leicester,  II,  i,  93,  records  the  burial  on  18  August  1586  of 
Mr.  John  Harford,  minister  of  Bottesford.  He  also  states  (Leicester, 
II,  i,  93)  that  Edmund  Higginbotham  was  curate  at  Bottesford  in 
1602.  John  Knowells,  second  husband  of  Samuel  Fleming's  sister 
Esther,  was  stipendiary  curate  of  Bottesford  from  1617  to  1620  and 
from  1622  to  1646.  For  this  and  for  much  other  information  con- 
cerning Esther  Davenport  Knowells  and  her  marriages  I  am  in- 
debted to  the  Reverend  J.  E.  H.  Wood,  M.A.,  Rector  of  Knipton 
near  Grantham.  I  am  indebted  to  the  Reverend  L.  S.  Maurice  of 
Cottenham  for  a  list  of  curates  who  were  at  Cottenham  in  Samuel 
Fleming's  time. 

41.  Thomas  Birch,  Memoirs  of  the  Reign  of  Queen  Elizabeth,  from  the  Tear 
1581  Till  Her  Death  (London,  1754),  II,  59;  and  The  Manuscripts  of 
His  Grace  the  Duke  of  Rutland,  I,  339.  If  Fleming  went  to  the  Conti- 
nent at  this  time,  it  will  be  necessary  to  look  no  further  for  an 
explanation  of  his  failure  to  sign  the  Cottenham  common  rights 
agreement. 

42.  North  Country  Wills  (Durham,  1912),  Surtees  Society  Publications, 
CXXI,  II,  151-152.  Gervase  Wilde  was  captain  of  one  of  the 
English  ships  that  fought  the  Armada. 

43.  The  Manuscripts  of  His  Grace  the  Duke  of  Rutland,  I,  322—324.  It  is  not 
clear  what  the  source  of  the  Queen's  objection  to  Tyrwhit  was.  He 
was  son  and  heir  to  Sir  Robert  Tyrwhit,  knight,  of  Kettleby  in 
Lincolnshire. 

44.  Irvin  Eller,  The  History  of  Belvoir  Castle,  from  the  Conquest  to  the 
Nineteenth  Century  (London,  1841),  p.  58;  and  The  Progresses,  Proces- 
sions, and  Magnificent  Festivities  of  King  James  the  First,  ed.  John 
Nichols  (London,  1828),  I,  90-93.  Eller  and  the  author  of  the 
article  on  Roger  Manners,  fifth  Earl  of  Rutland,  in  The  Dictionary 
of  National  Biography  are  in  error  when  they  state  that  Ben  Jonson's 
The  Gypsies  Metamorphosed  was  played  before  the  King  on  this 

[77] 


occasion.  The  performance  at  Belvoir  was  on  a  later  occasion.  See 
Herford  and  Simpson,  Ben  Jonson  (Oxford,  1925-52),  VII,  541. 

45.  John  le  Neve,  Fasti  Ecclesiae  Anglicanae,  continued  by  T.  DufFus 
Hardy  (Oxford,  1854),  III,  457. 

46.  The  Manuscripts  of  His  Grace  the  Duke  of  Rutland,  IV,  479. 

47.  Four  such  meetings  during  Fleming's  ministry  are  recorded:  1  July 
1584;  7  June  1585,  at  Mr.  Landes'  house,  Mr.  Lewis  being  Speaker 
and  Mr.  Farrar  Moderator  (the  31st  meeting);  8  May  1587;  and 
5  May  1589.  See  Roland  G.  Usher,  The  Presbyterian  Movement  in  the 
Reign  of  Queen  Elizabeth  As  Illustrated  by  the  Minute  Book  of  the  Dedham 
Classis,  1582-89  (Camden  Society,  1905). 

48.  Usher  is  the  authority  for  this  statement.  An  even  earlier  synod  is 
recorded  as  having  taken  place  at  Cambridge  in  1582.  Cooper, 
Annals,  II,  390. 

49.  There  are  contemporary  data  in  The  Wonderful  Discouerie  of  the 
Witchcrafts  of  Margaret  and  Phillip  Flower,  printed  by  G.  Eld  for 

J.  Barnes,  1619;  and  in  a  ballad  entitled  Damnable  Practises  of  Three 
Lincolne-shire  Witches  loane  Flower  and  Her  Two  Daughters,  printed  by 
G.  Eld  for  John  Barnes,  1619.  More  modern  accounts  appear  in 
Nichols'  Leicester  ( The  Wonderful  Discouerie  is  printed  as  appendix  IX 
to  volume  II,  part  i);  in  Filer's  Belvoir;  and  in  the  little  pamphlet 
called  The  Church  of  St.  Mary  the  Virgin  Bottesford,  Leics.  and  Its 
Monuments  by  M.  P.  Dare  (4th  ed.,  1953),  appendix.  Mrs.  Hilda 
Lewis  has  written  a  historical  romance  entitled  The  Witch  and  the 
Priest  (London,  1956)  most  of  which  consists  of  a  weirdly  fascinating 
series  of  conversations  between  Samuel  Fleming  and  the  ghost  of 
Joan  Flower,  during  the  course  of  which  she  relates  the  chief  inci- 
dents of  her  devil-ridden  career  to  the  horrified  priest.  Esther 
(Hester)  Fleming  Davenport  appears  as  a  character.  Mrs.  Lewis  has 
dedicated  her  book  to  Samuel  Fleming's  successor  at  Bottesford,  the 
Reverend  Canon  A.  T.  G.  Blackmore. 

50.  I  am  indebted  to  A.  N.  L.  Munby,  Esq.,  Librarian  of  King's  Col- 
lege, for  a  transcript  of  a  record  by  the  eighteenth-century  anti- 
quarian Anthony  Allen.  According  to  Mr.  Munby,  the  phrase  "in 
the  Pulpit"  is  a  later  addition,  not  in  Allen's  hand.  As  to  the  date  of 
Samuel  Fleming's  burial,  Register  A  and  Register  B  of  Cottenham 
are  in  disagreement.  A  has  12  September,  B  has  13  September.  The 
Reverend  Mr.  Maurice  informs  me  that  Register  B  is  probably  a 
copy  of  Register  A;  the  former  date  is  therefore  to  be  preferred. 

51.  Nichols,  Leicester,  II,  i,  91.  As  early  as  1592  payments  were  made  in 
behalf  of  the  Earl  of  Rutland  for  masonry,  carpentry,  and  stone- 

[78] 


work  around  the  windows  of  a  hospital  at  Bottesford.  The  Manu- 
scripts of  His  Grace  the  Duke  of  Rutland,  vol.  IV.  What  connection 
there  may  have  been  between  this  hospital  and  Fleming's  founda- 
tion is  unknown  to  me.  There  may  have  been  none.  Fleming's 
Hospital  existed  not  long  ago,  commemorating  its  founder  by  its 
name;  the  Reverend  Mr.  Wood  has  informed  me  that  it  has  now 
been  turned  into  a  block  of  four  flats.  Samuel  Fleming's  other 
foundation  was  a  bridge,  still  known  by  his  name,  traditionally  said 
to  have  been  built  after  he  came  on  one  occasion  into  danger  of 
drowning  in  the  river  which  it  crosses. 

52.  Nichols,  Leicester,  II,  i,  91. 

53.  Administrations  of  the  Prerogative  Court  of  Canterbury,  Principal 
Probate  Registry,  Somerset  House,  London.  The  record  is  difficult 
to  read.  One  Edward  Scot  is  named  as  Esther  Davenport's  husband, 
and  she  is  named  as  "Hestere  Dauenporte  ah'<7s  Scote."  This  must 
be  an  error,  since  John  Knowells  lived  until  1 646  (unless  this  is  an 
instance  of  the  possession  of  alternate  names  not  unknown  among 
the  Elizabethans,  or  unless  this  is  a  version  of  the  general  legal 
name,  like  John  Doe,  John-a-nokes,  and  John-a-stiles). 

54.  British  Museum,  Royal  MS  12.A.xxx.  There  is  a  reprint  in  Nichols, 
The  Progresses  and  Public  Processions  oj  Queen  Elizabeth  (London,  1788- 
1821).  The  edition  of  1823  dropped  the  reprint  and  made  only  a 
passing  mention  of  these  poems.  The  work  is  commented  upon  by 
H.  C.  Maxwell  Lyte  in  A  History  oj  Eton  College,  1440-1884  (London, 
1889),  p.  165. 

55.  His  brother  Abraham,  on  the  other  hand,  was  actually  employed 
in  the  printing  business.  See  Miss  Dodson's  article  referred  to  above, 
and  W.  E.  Miller,  Abraham  Fleming,  Elizabethan  Man  of  Letters:  a 
Biographical  and  Critical  Study,  University  of  Pennsylvania  disserta- 
tion, 1957,  chapter  I. 

56.  Mozley,  p.  148. 

57.  "...  Samuell  and  Abraham  Flemings  both  liuing,  brethren  by 
one  bellie,  and  Londoners  borne.  Quorum  prior  historiolam  quondam  de 
regimine  Mariae  nuper  Anglorum  principis,  eamque  elegantem,  Latino 
idiomate  (nunquam  tamen  excusam)  contexuit:  posterior  in  hisce  chronicis 
detergendis  atque  dilatandis,  vna  cum  vberrimorum.  indicum  accessione, 
plurimum  desudauit.  .  .  ."  A  translation  of  the  Latin  part  of  the  note: 
'.  .  .  theformer  of  whom  composed  in  the  Latin  language  a  certain 
little  history  of  the  reign  of  Mary  late  prince  of  the  English,  and  an 
elegant  one  too  (but  never  printed) ;  the  latter  labored  mightily  in 
correcting  and  adding  to  these  chronicles,  together  with  the  addi- 
tion of  very  useful  indexes.  .  .  .'  Chronicles  (1587),  III,  1590. 

[79] 


A  Middle  English  Lyric  in  Manuscript 

John  Morford* 

IN  THE  Rare  Book  Collection  of  the  University  of  Pennsyl- 
vania Library  is  a  fifteenth-century  manuscript  of  the 
Sermones  dominicales  of  John  Felton,  vicar  of  St.  Mary  Magdalene, 
Oxford  (fl.  1430)  containing  a  short  poem  beginning  "I  ham  as  I 
ham  and  so  will  I  be"  written  in  on  a  blank  flyleaf.  The  manu- 
script is  classified  as  "Lat.  35."^  The  poem  (f.  3^  is  in  a  hand 
distinct  from  the  text,  and  of  somewhat  later  date  (ca.  1500- 
1525).  It  is  written  in  a  "Bastard"  hand  current  in  England  from 
the  late  fourteenth  to  the  early  sixteenth-century.  ^ 


*  Graduate  School  of  Arts  and  Sciences.  This  article  is  the  result  of  a  paper  given 
in  a  graduate  course  of  the  History  Department. 

[80] 


The  poem,  written  in  sixteen  irregular  lines,  is  not  of  great 
importance,  but  nevertheless  deserves  publication.  The  words  in 
our  transcription  have  been  checked  in  the  Oxford  English 
Dictionary. 

I  ham  as  I  ham  &  so  will  I  be.  but  howe  I 
ham  none  knowithe  truly 

I  lede  my  lyff  in  differntly.  I  meane  nothinke 
but  honeste.  thought  folkx  lugge  diversly 
Yet  I  ham  .  .'  as  I  ham  &  so  will  I  be. 

Sum  therebe  that  dothe  myserowe.  ful  of 
pleasure  &  ful  of  woo.  yet  for  all  that  no 
thinke  they  knowe.  ffor  I  ham  as  I  ham 
wher  ev[er]  I  goo. 

Sum  therebe  that  dothe  delyght.  to  lugge 
folkx  for  envy  &  spythe.  but  whether 
they  luge  wronge  or  ryght.  I  ham  as  I 
ham  &  soo  will  I  wryght. 

A  dew  sewte  Syster  &  neve  departings 
is  A  payne  But  myrthe  renewithe 
when  Louyars  meate  Agen. 

The  reading  is  fairly  obvious  and  it  seems  unnecessary  to  add  a 
transcription  into  modern  English.  We  trust  that  the  reading  of 
the  rather  careless  hand  has  been  transcribed  correcdy. 

Versification.  The  meter  is  of  the  "four-stress"  variety,  common 
during  the  Middle  English  period  and  later. ^  If  the  uneven  lines 
of  the  text  are  ignored,  and  proper  attention  is  given  to  Middle 
English  pronunciation,  scansion  is  quite  obvious,  e.g., 

I  lede  my  lyff  in  differntly 

S*"  ■tmf  ^rr  ^ir 

I  meane  nothinke  but  honeste. 
thought  folkx  lugge  diversly 

English  poetry,  of  course,  is  "accentual"  (unlike  the  poetry  of 
French  or  Latin)  but  does  not  require  the  simple  doggerel  of 

[81] 


stressed  and  unstressed  syllables  like  the  above.  The  next  line 
scans : 

Yet  I  ham  .  .  as  I  ham  and  so  will  I  be. 

All  the  lines  are  paired  in  the  common  rhymed  couplets  of 
Middle  English  poetry.  The  rhyme  sequence,  somewhat  rarer 
but  not  uncommon,  is,  by  stanza,  aa,  aaaa,  bbbb,  cccc,  dd.  That 
the  piece  is  divided  into  stanzas  is  itself  interesting  because  "the 
appearance  of  the  stanza  in  English  verse  is  always  the  sign  of 
foreign  influence."^ 

Identification.  The  poet  has  not  been  identified.  The  piece  is  not 
listed  in  Brown  and  Robbins'  Index  oj  Middle  English  Verse  (1943) 
or  in  Brown's  earlier  Register  oj  Middle  English  Religious  and 
Didactic  Verse  (1916,  1920).  A  similar  poem,  beginning  "I  am  as 
I  am,"  and  with  various  almost  identical  lines,  but  more  exten- 
sive (40  lines)  appears  in  British  Museum  Ms.  Add.  17492  on 
folio  85.  This  ms.  is  dated  in  the  Catalogue  of  Additions  (London, 
1868,  p.  23)  "earlier  half  of  XVIth  century"  and  contains  poems 
by  Sir  Thomas  Wyatt,  Lord  Surrey,  Anthony  Lee,  Richard  Hat- 
field and  others.  Careful  examination  of  this  ms.  and  collation 
was  not  attempted  in  this  brief  article:  it  might  provide  a  clue  to 
the  authorship  and  tradition  of  our  poem. 

Conclusion.  The  evidence  seems  to  indicate  that  the  poem  was 
composed  between  the  middle  of  the  fifteenth-century  (the  manu- 
script) and  ca.  1510  (the  approximate  date  when  it  was  added  to 
the  codex) .  The  poem  appears  to  be  of  the  genre  of  the  carol  which 
flourished  in  the  later  Middle  Ages.  The  typical  carol  had  uni- 
form stanzas  and  began  with  a  burden,  or  refrain,  that  was 
repeated  after  each  stanza.  Such  carols  were  often  a  part  of  a 
ring-dance  in  which  the  leader  sang  the  stanzas  and  a  ring  of 
dancers  responded  with  the  burden.^  The  author,  or  the  scribe 
who  copied  it,  was  probably  Northumbrian  or  Scottish  in  origin 
and  could  well  have  been  familiar  with  the  French  language  and 
poetry.  The  poem  is  a  kind  of  comic  lover's  lament.  Its  tone  is 
light.  Whether  or  not  the  poet  expects  a  reconciliation,  he  is  a 
happy  philosopher:  ".  .  .  mirth  is  renewed  when  lovers  meet 
again." 

[82] 


NOTES 

1 .  A  more  complete  description  of  the  manuscript,  Sermones  dominicales, 
prepared  by  Dr.  Norman  Zacour,  Custodian  of  Manuscripts,  will 
appear  in  the  forthcoming  Supplement  to  the  de  Ricci  Census  of 
Medieval  and  Renaissance  Manuscripts  in  the  United  States  and  Canada. 

2.  Cf.  Hilary  Jenkinson,  The  Later  Court  Hands  in  England  (Cambridge, 
1927),  p.  51.  Examples  of  a  Bastard  hand  of  the  mid-fifteenth  cen- 
tury, resembling  in  detail  our  text,  are  shown  in  Edward  M. 
Thompson,  Handbook  of  Greek  and  Latin  Palaeography  (New  York, 
1893),  p.  312,  and  in  Walter  W.  Skeat,  Twelve  Facsimiles  of  Old 
English  Manuscripts  (Oxford,  1892),  pi.  11. 

3.  Erasure. 

4.  See  Raymond  M.  Alden,  English  Verse  (New  York,  1903),  p.  62. 

5.  Ibid. 

6.  For  a  complete  description  of  this  type  of  medieval  lyric  poetry  see 
Richard  Leighton  Greene,  The  early  English  Carols  (Oxford,  1935). 


[83] 


Notes  on  the  Eighteenth-Century  German 
Translations  of  Swift's  Gulliver's  Travels 

Matti  M.  Rossi* 

AN  interesting  aspect  of  the  eighteenth-century  Hterary  scene 
XjL  in  Europe  was  the  tremendous  impact  of  EngHsh  Hterature, 
particularly  the  novel,  on  other  European  literatures.  In  fact,  in 
France  around  the  middle  of  the  century  Montesquieu  pub- 
lished a  booklet  protesting  this  influence.  In  Germany,  where 
national  literature  was  long  neglected  and  ignored  until  the 
Sturm  und  Drang  movement  and  classicism  changed  the  situation 
completely,  the  effect  was  even  more  deeply  felt. 

Of  the  individual  works  that  created  a  veritable  new  species  of 
literature  in  Germany,  De  Foe's  Robinson  Crusoe  must  be  men- 
tioned first.  This  book  was  so  popular  in  German  translation  that 
numerous  imitations  soon  appeared.  These  more  or  less  successful 
imitations  of  their  famous  predecessor,  called  "Robinsonades," 
were  incredibly  popular.  One  of  the  most  famous  was  Joachim 
Heinrich  Campe's  Robinson  der  Jungere  first  published  in  1779.  By 
1891  it  had  reached  its  115th  edition  and  had  been  translated 
into  twelve  different  languages  including  classical  Greek. ^ 

In  view  of  the  fact  of  the  popularity  of  the  "Robinsonades"  it 
is  surprising  that  a  similar  work  such  as  Jonathan  Swift's  Gul- 
livefs  Travels  did  not  attract  somewhat  comparable  attention  in 
eighteenth-century  Germany.  It  seemed  to  pass  almost  unnoticed 
and  was  nearly  forgotten  by  the  end  of  the  century.  Gulliver'' s 
Travels  had  a  much  wider  popularity  elsewhere  in  Europe.  There 
were  twenty-nine  editions  in  French  translation  in  the  eighteenth- 
century,  twelve  of  them  published  at  The  Hague,  1727-1787  and 
seventeen  at  Paris,  1727-1799.  In  Zurich  Johann  Jakob  Bodmer 
and  Johann  Jakob  Breitinger  kept  alive  the  interest  in  the  early 
eighteenth-century  tradition  to  which  Gulliver's  Travels  belongs. 
In  Germany,  Teerink  lists  only  nine  German  editions  in  the 
period  1727-1788,  exclusive  of  collected  works  editions.  In  the 

*  Graduate  School  of  Arts  and  Sciences.  This  article  is  the  result  of  a  study  in  a 
graduate  course  of  the  English  Department. 

[84] 


chief  German  literary  capitals  the  early  rationalistic  eighteenth- 
century  tradition  was  giving  way  to  sentiment  and  sentimentality. 
Leipzig  and  Hamburg  were  busy  welcoming  Tristram  and 
Pamela,  and  the  complicated  multi-level  technique  used  by 
Swift  lost  its  appeal,  if  it  ever  had  any. 

Nevertheless,  Gulliver's  Travels  fills  a  chapter  in  the  annals  of 
German  literature  and  clarification  is  needed  about  the  early 
German  translations  of  the  Travels.  This  study  is  the  result  of  the 
examination  of  the  Swiftiana  in  the  Rare  Book  Collection  of  the 
University  of  Pennsylvania  Library,  notably  the  superlative 
Swift  materials  in  the  Teerink  Collection. 

The  first  German  translation  of  the  Travels  followed  hard  on 
the  heels  of  the  appearance  of  the  first  French  editions  published 
at  The  Hague  in  January  1727  and  at  Paris  in  March.  The 
enthusiastic  reception  of  these  French  editions  led  to  the  appear- 
ance of  the  first  German  edition  later  the  same  year.  Karl 
Goedeke's  Grundriss  zur  Geschichte  der  deutschen  Dichtung  gives  no 
help  in  the  problem  of  the  early  German  translations  of  the 
Travels.  The  information  in  Hanns  W.  Eppelsheimer's  Handbuch 
der  Weltliteratur  is  incorrect.  The  latter  states  that  the  first  German 
translation  was  made  by  D.  Pott  in  1798.^  It  is  obvious  from  an 
examination  of  the  materials  in  the  Teerink  Collection  and  in  the 
bibliography  of  the  writings  of  Swift  published  by  Teerink  that 
the  Pott  translation  had  three  predecessors.  The  first  German 
translation  was  based  on  the  French  text  published  at  The  Hague 
in  1727  and  its  language  shows  signs  of  carelessness.  Also,  it  con- 
tains some  curious  vernacular  mistakes.  The  translator  is  reputed 
to  have  been  J.  Ch.  Corner  and  this  translation  went  through 
three  editions:  the  first  in  1727-1728;  the  second  in  1733-1735; 
and  the  third  in  1739-1746,  all  in  three  volumes.  In  1739  there 
was  a  re-issue  of  volumes  one  and  two  of  the  third  edition,  but 
according  to  Teerink,  this  was  a  different  printing.  The  collations 
and  the  plates  are  the  same,  but  the  title-pages  are  different.^  All 
of  these  editions  were  printed  in  Hamburg  and  Leipzig. 

The  first  German  translation  based  on  the  English  original  was 
not  made  until  1756,  when  Johann  Heinrich  Waser,  the  deacon 
of  Winterthiir,  began  his  translation  of  the  collected  works  of 
Swift.  Waser  obviously  knew  his  English,  and  he  was  able  to 

[85] 


appreciate  Swift  as  a  writer  of  ability.  But  when  Waser  started 
his  work  it  was  already  too  late.  The  high  tide  of  neoclassicism 
had  passed,  and  something  new  was  in  the  air.  Between  1756  and 
1766  Waser  translated  into  German  the  collected  works  of  Swift. 
His  publisher  also  produced  a  special  issue  of  Gulliver's  Travels  in 
1761.  This  came  out  simultaneously  with  the  fifth  volume  of  the 
collected  works  which  also  contained  Gulliver's  Travels.  A  second 
edition  of  the  special  edition  appeared  in  1762  and  a  third  in 
1772. 

The  next  translation  in  German,  according  to  Teerink,  was 
made  in  Copenhagen  in  1786  by  Karl  Heinrich  Krogen.  This 
translation  is  ignored  by  Price  in  his  English-German  Literary 
Influences,  Bibliography  and  Survey.  Whether  there  were  more  edi- 
tions of  this  version,  Teerink  gives  no  information. 

In  1788  R.  Riesbeck  translated  Gulliver's  Travels  into  German 
and  this  translation  was  published  in  Zurich.  It  has  no  preface 
and  no  comment  on  previous  versions,  but  as  far  as  I  can  see, 
Riesbeck  follows  the  Waser  version  very  closely.  The  changes  in 
the  text  are  of  no  great  importance. 

The  last  German  translation  of  Gulliver's  Travels  in  this  series 
came  out  in  1800-1801  as  the  fifth  volume  of  Swift's  collected 
works  by  D.  Pott.  Eppelsheimer  gives  1798  as  the  date,  Price 
states  1800-1801,  but  adds  in  brackets  1798-1801,  probably  re- 
ferring to  the  entire  period  within  which  all  five  volumes  were 
published.  After  this  translation  the  interest  in  Swift  grew  weaker 
and  Gulliver's  Travels  tended  to  be  regarded  as  primarily  a  story 
for  children. 

The  1761  Translation 

In  1761  Gulliver's  Travels  appeared  both  as  a  special  issue  and 
as  the  fifth  volume  of  the  collected  works.  For  many  reasons  this 
translation  by  Waser  is  of  particular  interest.  Teerink's  note  on 
the  separate  issue  runs  as  follows: 

This  is  a  separate  issue  of  Vol.  V  of  Satyr ische  und  ernsthafte  Schriften, 
1761.  The  text  (1-462)  is  the  same  printing  (only:  'V.  Theil.'  removed 
from  foot  of  first  page  of  each  new  sheet),  but  the  prefatory  matter 
(I-XVI)  is  new.  —  In  the  "Vorrede"  the  translator  condemns  preceding 
translations  as  having  been  based  on  a  French  translation  (the  'Hague' 

[86] 


one),  in  its  turn  based  on  the  English  original  which  had  been  tampered 
with  in  the  press,  so  that  they  contained  double  mistakes;  whereas  he 
praises  his  own,  translated  direct  from  the  English  text  corrected  by  the 
author  himself  (Faulkner's?).  This  translator  knows  how  to  appreciate 
Swift:  he  defends  Swift's  intentions  in  Gulliver's  Travels  against  stupid 
critics,  i.e.  Orrery  and  Young. ^ 

In  this  note  there  are  certain  points  which  require  closer  exami- 
nation. The  prefatory  matter,  the  "Vorrede,"  is  not,  strictly 
speaking,  new.  It  is  obviously  abridged  and  adapted  from  a 
longer  and  more  circumstantial  preface  which  occurs  in  the  fifth 
volume  of  the  German  edition  of  the  collected  works.  Moreover, 
the  "Vorrede"  in  the  separate  issue  seems  to  have  been  provided 
by  the  publishers  for  purely  advertizing  purposes.  For  more 
systematical  information  we  are  referred  to  the  original  of  the 
"Vorrede,"  titled  "Schreiben  des  Herrn  Breitenfels  an 
Herrn****."  Herr  von  Breitenfels  appears  to  be  a  pseudonym  of 
the  translator,  Waser.  We  do  not  know  to  whom  it  is  addressed, 
but  this  preface  is  one  of  the  very  few  direct  statements  on 
Gulliver'' s  Travels  in  eighteenth-century  German  criticism.  In  this 
preface  Waser  defends  Swift  in  very  sharp  terms.  He  is  particu- 
larly insistent  against  the  tendency  of  labeling  Gulliver's  Travels  as 
children's  literature.  He  also  has  a  word  for  those  whose  attitude 
toward  Swift  is  colored  by  moral  or  religious  prudery.  The  most 
interesting  part  of  the  preface  is  the  author's  discussion  of  Young's 
and  Orrery's  views  on  the  subject.  Teerink  bluntly  refers  to 
Young  and  Orrery  as  "stupid  critics."  Waser  was  equally  op- 
posed for,  from  his  standpoint,  their  attitude  prevented  all  sensi- 
ble discussion  of  Swift's  work.  However,  after  refuting  the 
critiques  of  Young  and  Orrery  he  apologizes  like  a  real  gentle- 
man. On  the  whole  Waser's  preface  is  a  very  interesting  piece  of 
criticism  and  it  shows  in  high  relief  the  eighteenth-century  Ger- 
man attitude  towards  the  intellectual  neoclassical  tradition  of 
English  literature. 

The  Original  of  the  1761  Translation 

In  the  unabridged  preface  to  the  1761  translation  Waser,  in 
one  of  his  footnotes,  indicates  the  non-Swiftian  passage  added  by 
Benjamin  Motte  to  the  first  English  editions.  This  passage  in  the 

[87] 


Motte  editions  was  in  Chapter  6,  "Voyage  to  the  Houyhnhnms," 
in  which  Queen  Anne  is  said  to  carry  the  state  affairs  without  "a 
corrupt  ministry."  ("I  told  him,  that  our  She  Governor  or  Queen 
having  no  Ambition  to  gratify,  no  Inchnation  to  satisfy  of  extend- 
ing her  power  to  the  injury  of  her  neighbours  .  .  .").  He  also 
mentions  a  few  additional  corruptions;  in  chapter  3,  "Voyage  to 
Laputa,"  and  in  chapter  5,  "Voyage  to  the  Houyhnhnms."  The 
recognition  of  these  corruptions  indicate  that  the  translator  was 
aware  of  the  superior  quality  of  the  so-called  Faulkner  editions 
and  knew  where  to  turn  to  find  the  best  English  edition  on  which 
he  could  base  his  translation.  In  the  prefatory  notes  of  the  1761 
German  edition  appears  "Captain  Gulliver's  Letter  to  his  Cousin 
Sympson."  This  letter  does  not  appear  in  any  of  the  first  three 
German  editions,  based  on  the  French  text  published  at  The 
Hague  in  1727.  It  does  appear  for  the  first  time  in  the  1735 
Faulkner  English  edition  of  the  Travels.  Thus,  we  can  establish, 
with  a  fair  degree  of  certainty,  that  the  original  of  the  1761 
German  translation  of  Gulliver's  Travels  was  the  celebrated 
Faulkner  edition.  In  his  note  on  the  subject  Teerink  places  a 
question  mark  after  the  Faulkner  edition  as  the  text  on  which  the 
Waser  translation  was  based.  I  see  no  reason  now  why  we  cannot 
disregard  this  question  mark  and  label  the  Faulkner  edition  as 
the  English  text  on  which  the  Waser  translation  was  based. 


NOTES 

1 .  Lawrence  M.  Price,  English-German  Literary  Influences,  Bibliography  and 
Survey  (Berkeley,  California,  1919),  p.  175.  The  most  often  quoted 
authority  on  Swift  in  German  literature  is  probably  Vera  Philippovic, 
Swift  in  Deutschland  (Agram,  1903).  Price  bases  his  account  of  Swift's 
position  in  German  literature  on  this  source.  He  also  quotes  from 
Emil  Flindt,  Uber  den  Einfluss  der  englischen  Litteratur  auj  die  deutsche  des 
18.  Jahrhunderts  (Charlottenburg,  1897). 

2.  Eppelsheimer,  Hanns  W.,  Handbuch  der  Weltliteratur  (Frankfurt  am 
Main,  1947-1950),  I,  298. 

3.  H.  Teerink,  A  Bibliography  of  the  Writings  in  Prose  and  Verse  of  Jonathan 
Swift  (The  Hague,  1937),  p.  216. 

4.  Ibid. 

[88] 


Library  Notes 


Various  Gifts 

Albrecht,  Otto  E.— 27  pieces  of  choral  music:  162  songs  for  voices 
and  piano. 

Brinton,  Jasper  Y.  — Smith,  William,  Prayers  for  the  Use  of  the  Phila- 
delphia Academy,  1753.  (2  copies). 

Evans,  Mrs.  James  D.— Smollett,  Tobias,  Expedition  of  Humphry 
Clinker,  illustrated  by  Cruickshank,  1836.  Smollett,  Tobias,  Adventures  of 
Roderick  Random,  1857.  Smiles,  Samuel,  Brief  Biographies,  1861.  Also, 
about  100  prints  of  One  Thousand  and  One  Nights  in  black  and  white, 
and  colors. 

Evans  Dental  Museum — On  permanent  loan,  a  collection  of  275 
Bibles,  ancient  and  modern,  16th  through  19th  centuries.  Special  ar- 
rangements for  this  loan  were  made  by  the  Trustees  of  the  Evans  Dental 
Institute. 

Foster,  Richard  W.— Wadsworth,  Frank  W.,  The  poacher  from 
Stratford,  1958. 

Georgia,  University;  Library— Lecture  notes  in  manuscript  taken 
by,  or  in  the  possession  of,  Thomas  Hamilton  (University  of  Pennsyl- 
vania Medical  School,  1820).  Barton,  Benjamin  Smith,  "Lecture  notes 
on  materia  medica,"  ca.  1810.  "Lectures  on  surgery"  delivered  by 
Philip  Syng  Physick  and  J.  Syng  Dorsey,  1810.  (2  volumes).  Rush, 
Benjamin,  "Lecture  notes  upon  the  institutes  and  practice  of  medicine 
and  upon  clinical  cases,"  ca.  1812. 

U.  S.  National  Archives— Guides  to  German  records  microfilmed  at  Alex- 
andria, Virginia,  no.  1-6,  1958. 

Speiser,  Raymond  A.— Forty  bound  volumes  of  Theatre  Arts  Maga- 
zine. 

U.  S.  Atomic  Energy  Commission — The  Geneva  presentation  volumes 
presented  by  the  USA  at  the  Second  International  Conference  on  the  Peaceful  Uses 
of  Atomic  Energy,  September,  1958. 

Ward,  Philip  H.,  Jr.  — Collection  of  mounted  stamps;  box  of  auto- 
graphs and  photographs;  box  of  Anthony  Wayne  letters;  4  boxes  of 
books  on  philately. 

We  gratefully  acknowledge  other  gifts  from  the  following  faculty 
members:  Derk  Bodde,  Andres  Briner,  Paul  Gemmill,  Edmund  L 
Gordon,  William  E.  Miller,  Heinz  Moenkemeyer,  Otakar  Odlozilik, 
A.  G.  Reichenberger,  A.  N.  Richards,  and  Otto  Rosenthal. 

J.  M.  G. 

[89] 


The  John  Louis  Haney  Collection 

For  many  years  a  devoted  friend  of  the  University,  Dr.  Haney  has 
presented  a  substantial  part  of  his  excellent  library  of  English  and 
American  literature  to  the  Library.  An  alumnus  of  the  class  of  1898, 
Dr.  Haney  received  his  Ph.D.  in  1901  and  an  LL.D.  in  1939  from  the 
University.  From  1900  to  1920  he  was  a  member  of  the  English  faculty 
of  Philadelphia's  Central  High  School;  as  president  of  that  institution 
from  1920  to  1943,  he  established  his  reputation  as  an  educator  of  the 
highest  rank.  Dr.  Haney's  accomplishments  as  a  teacher  are  reflected  in 
his  scholarly  writing,  particularly  his  critical  and  bibliographical  work 
in  English  literature.  His  colleagues  in  English  studies  continue  to  be 
grateful  for  his  Bibliography  of  S.  T.  Coleridge,  published  in  1903,  a  pioneer 
work  of  lasting  merit. 

Through  Dr.  Haney's  generosity,  over  2,000  volumes  have  been 
added  to  the  Library,  many  of  them  now  a  part  of  the  Rare  Book 
Collection.  Among  them  are  first  and  rare  editions  of  Coleridge, 
William  Wordsworth,  William  Blake  and  Lord  Tennyson.  There  are 
also  rare  volumes  of  bibliography  and  biography  which  are  a  welcome 
addition  to  the  reference  section  of  the  Rare  Book  Collection. 

The  books  which  will  go  into  the  general  or  reference  collections  are 
works  of  English  and  American  fiction  and  poetry,  valuable  complete 
sets  of  an  author's  work,  and  general  works  of  history  and  literature. 
The  Library  is  particularly  grateful  to  Dr.  Haney  for  supplying  us  with 
fine  sets  of  basic  English  literature  reference  works,  an  important  acqui- 
sition as  we  contemplated  the  necessity  of  duplicating  many  of  these 
titles  for  the  extended  services  of  the  new  library. 

N.  M.  W. 

An  Important  Purchase 

The  purchase  of  the  Joseph  E.  Gillet  Library  was  reported  in  the 
preceding  issue.  Since  the  Friends  of  the  Library  have  undertaken  to 
aid  in  defraying  the  cost  of  this  acquisition  a  more  detailed  explanation 
of  the  content  of  this  collection  is  in  order.  Dr.  Arnold  Reichenberger 
of  the  Romance  Languages  Department  has  supplied  the  following 
description. 

Professor  Joseph  E.  Gillet,  who  died  on  June  4,  1958,  was  primarily 
concerned  with  the  literature  of  the  Spanish  Renaissance,  and  par- 
ticularly with  sixteenth-century  Spanish  theatre.  His  work  was 
climaxed  in  a  monumental  edition  of  the  Spanish  dramatist  Torres 
Naharro.  It  was  planned  in  four  volumes,  three  of  which  have  been 
published.  The  fourth  volume  is  now  being  edited  for  publication  by 
Professor  Otis  H.  Green.  Volume  three  (Bryn  Mawr,  1951)  offers,  in 
891  closely  printed  pages,  an  extensive  commentary  on  the  language 
and  the  historical  and  "costumbristic"  background  of  an  immensely 

[90] 


difficult  author  who  used  other  languages  and  dialects  besides  his 
native  Castilian.  Gillet's  commentary  is  a  storehouse  of  information 
on  sixteenth-century  Spanish  language,  folklore,  and  costumes. 

His  library  reflects  these  interests  in  Torres  Naharro  and  the 
Spanish  Renaissance  in  general.  Its  value  consists  in  a  unique  collec- 
tion of  dictionaries,  Spanish  and  Portuguese  proverbs,  Renaissance 
editions  of  authors  of  poetic  theory,  works  on  the  development  of  var- 
ious national  literatures  in  South  America,  a  number  of  single  editions 
(sueltas)  of  seventeenth-century  Spanish  plays,  and  a  few  manuscripts. 

The  collection  has  not  only  most  of  the  bilingual  and  multilingual 
sixteenth-  and  seventeenth-century  dictionaries  such  as  Palet,  Oudin, 
De  las  Casas,  Toscanella,  and  De  la  Porte,  some  of  which  have  not 
been  utilized  by  Gili  Gaya's  Tesoro  lexicogrdfico,  but  also  a  great  num- 
ber of  related  peninsula  bilingual  dictionaries,  such  as  Portuguese, 
Catalan,  Mallorcan,  Valencian,  and  Basque.  Studies  on  regional  and 
local  speech,  both  peninsula  and  South  American,  are  also  repre- 
sented. This  part  of  the  collection  offers  unusual  facilities — unique 
perhaps  in  this  country — to  study  the  extension  of  the  Spanish 
vocabulary  in  time  and  space. 

In  the  section  of  proverbs  and  anecdotes  we  may  mention  the  joint 
edition  of  Nunez's  Refranes  o  Proverbios  and  Mai  Lara's  Filosofia  vulgar 
(Madrid,  Juan  de  la  Cuesta,  1619),  Perez  de  Herrera's  Proverbios 
morales  (Madrid,  1732  [first  1618]),  and  a  similar  Portuguese  one  by 
Joseph  Suppico  de  Moraes  (1732),  Esteso's  collection  of  chistes  and 
tonterias,  and  Garcia  Malo's  Voz  de  la  naturaleza  (Gerona,  1627  [vols, 
2-4]),  likewise  a  collection  of  stories  and  jokes. 

In  the  field  of  Renaissance  poetic  theory  we  find  the  commentary 
by  Robortelli  on  Aristotle's  Poetics,  a  beautiful  edition  (Florence, 
1548);  Petrus  Victorius'  Commentarii  in  Primiim  Librum  Aristotelis  de 
Poetica,  a  fine  (second)  edition  (Florence,  1573);  Julius  Scalinger's 
Poetices  Libri  Septem,  ([Heidelberg]  apud  Petrum  Santandreanum, 
1594);  L6pez  Pinciano,  Philosophia  Antigua  Poetica  (Madrid,  Junti, 
1596  [first  edition]);  Cascales'  Tablas  Pokicas  (Murcia,  1617  [first 
edition]);  Jusepe  Gonzalez  de  Sala's  Nueva  idea  de  la  tragedia  antigua  in 
a  carefully  printed  three-volume  edition  by  the  fine  craftsman  Sancha 
(Madrid,  1770);  and  Luzan's  Poetica  (Zaragoza,  1737  [first  edition]). 

In  the  field  of  seventeenth-century  Spanish  drama  the  exceptional 
holdings  of  the  University  of  Pennsylvania  Library  are  further 
enriched  by  eight  volumes  of  various  single  plays,  both  secular  and 
religious,  in  Spanish  and  Catalan. 

Another  welcome  addition  from  the  Gillet  Library  are  numerous 
rare  works  on  the  development  of  several  national  literatures,  or 
genres  of  it,  in  South  America,  such  as  Enrique  de  Olavarria  y 
Ferrari's  Reseha  historica  del  teatro  de  Mexico  (Mexico,  1895  [second 
edition])  in  four  volumes. 

[91] 


The  acquisition  of  Professor  Gillet's  library  provides  the  student 
with  opportunities  to  investigate  Spanish  lexicography  and  folklore, 
particularly  proverbs  and  tales,  not  heretofore  enjoyed  and  difficult 
to  find  assembled  in  any  one  library.  His  collection  on  Renaissance 
poetic  theory  enriches  our  Rare  Book  Collection.  His  holdings  on 
Latin  American  literature  are  welcome  to  round  out  our  already 
impressive  treasures  in  Spanish  literature,  which  until  now  were 
concentrated  on  peninsula  Spanish. 

Incunabula 

In  order  to  make  a  report  for  the  forthcoming  Third  Census  of  Fifteenth 
Century  Books  in  American  Libraries  a  thorough  check  has  been  made  of  the 
Library's  incunabula  collection,  housed  mainly  in  the  Rare  Book  Col- 
lection and  the  Lea  Library.  Our  holdings  have  tripled  since  1 940  (the 
date  of  Stillwell's  Second  Census),  growing  from  139  to  415.  Care  has  been 
taken  to  add  to  the  collection  titles  and  editions  of  textual  significance 
not  readily  accessible  in  or  near  the  Philadelphia  area.  Especially  wel- 
come are  the  70  items  that  do  not  appear  in  Stillwell  at  all.  Among 
those  that  are  not  listed  there,  and  apparently  not  recorded  elsewhere, 
are  a  Latin  edition  of  Lucian's  Charon,  probably  printed  at  Leipzig  by 
Martin  Landsberg  about  1492;  Dante,  //  Credo,  Florence,  Morgiani  and 
Petri,  between  1495  and  1500;  Le  Fevre  d'Etaples,  Introductiones  in 
diver  SOS  libros  Aristotelis,  Paris,  G.  Marchand,  12  October,  1497;  Cura 
pastor alis,  printed  at  Ulm,  probably  by  Johann  Reger  about  1498.  Also 
unrecorded  is  an  edition,  in  Italian,  of  the  romance  Bueve  de  Hantone, 
or  Bevis  of  Hampton,  Venice,  Maximus  de  Butricis,  18  June  1491;  the 
Gesamtkatalog  der  Wiegendrucke  lists  seven  other  editions  of  this  text  in 
Italian  (one  of  them  by  de  Butricis,  7  January,  1491)  but  locates  only 
one  copy  of  each.  An  interesting  broadside,  the  type  of  which  has  not 
been  identified,  is  a  proclamation  of  Emperor  Maximilian  I  dated  23 
July,  1495,  establishing  the  prerogatives  of  Eberhardt  I,  duke  of 
Wiirttemberg. 

Some  other  rare  titles  and  editions  not  listed  in  Stillwell  are:  the  first 
French  translation  of  Aristotle's  Ethica  Nicomachea,  by  Nicolas  Oresme, 
Paris,  Antoine  Verard,  1488  (GW  2381);  Boccaccio's  De  Claris  Mulieri- 
bus,  in  German,  Ulm,  Johann  Zainer,  1473,  with  76  woodcut  illustra- 
tions (GW  4486);  Filippo  Buonaccorsi,  Attila,  Venice,  Antonio  da 
Strada,  ca.  1489,  of  which  only  one  other  copy  is  recorded  {Indice 
generale  2233);  De  quantitate  sillabarum,  Paris,  Mittelhus,  ca.  1488,  an 
edition  noted  only  in  Claudin,  Histoire  de  Pimprimerie  en  France,  II,  8;  a 
German  book  on  the  art  of  letter  writing,  Formulare  und  Tiltsch  rethorica, 
Strassburg,  Johann  Priiss,  1486  (Copinger  2562);  a  bull  of  Pope 
Innocent  VIII,  Memmingen,  ca.  1485  (GW,  Einblattdrucke  728);  and 
Maphaeus  Vegius,  Dialogus  inter  Alithiam  et  Philaliten,  Cologne,  Ulrich 
Zell,  ca.  1470  (Voullieme  1202).  L.  W.  R. 

[92] 


Pirandello  Collection 

After  Professor  Domenico  Vittorini's  death  on  March  9,  1958,  several 
of  his  former  students  desired  to  contribute  a  permanent  memorial  on 
a  modest  scale.  Dr.  Bodo  Richter,  who  took  over  the  Italian  literature 
courses  during  the  academic  year  1958-59,  thought  it  would  be  a 
worthwhile  tribute  to  increase  the  University  Library's  holdings  of 
works  by  and  about  Luigi  Pirandello,  Professor  Vittorini's  favorite 
author.  More  than  one  hundred  dollars  was  collected  towards  this  goal 
and  twenty-five  volumes  were  purchased  in  Italy,  France,  England, 
and  the  United  States.  Most  of  the  books  were  privately  bound  and 
each  one  contains  a  special  bookplate  which  is  reproduced  below. 

The  material  ranges  from  Pirandello's  doctoral  dissertation  pre- 
sented at  the  University  of  Bonn  in  1891  to  the  American  libretto 
adaptation  of  his  Six  Characters  in  Search  of  an  Author.  The  opera  had  its 
premiere  on  April  24,  1959.  A  few  of  the  volumes  are  duplications  such 
as  a  four-volume  set  of  all  of  Pirandello's  plays.  Only  one  important 
study  is  lacking,  Luigi  Baccolo's  Pirandello,  but  this  will  be  added  soon. 

The  collection  was  presented  at  the  May  meeting  of  the  Circolo 
Italiano  of  the  University  of  Pennsylvania.  It  makes  our  Library 
virtually  complete  in  works  that  have  been  published  by  and  about  the 
Sicilian  dramatist.  The  students  are  rightfully  proud  that  their  own  idea 
could  be  brought  to  such  a  successful  realization. 


IN  MEMORY 

of  their  revered 
teacher  and  friend 

PROF.  DOMENICO  VITTORINI 

from  a  group  of  his  students 
during  the  years  1949-1958 


[93]